Author: JL

Summer Of 1986 – July 20th – Dramatic Punk Movie ‘SID & NANCY’ Premiered In London Today 40 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Every day of this summer we go back to the same summer day somewhere in history

20 July 2026

The dramatic film SID & NANCY portrays the destructive romance of the infamous
punk couple, Sid Vicious, bassist with the Sex Pistols, and his American Nancy Spungen, that ended in both their deaths.

Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb played the fateful couple.

The movie premiered in London on 20 July 1986, forty years ago today.

EMILY GROGAN – Puissant Boston Voice Enthralls With Power Ballad ‘TELL YOUR FRIENDS’

Posted on by JL

Daily electricity to load your batteries

20 July 2026


Photo by Carol Fondé

Artist: EMILY GROGAN
Who: Multi-instrumentalist and songstress from
Boston who has 2 albums (so far) on her résumé.

Track: TELL YOUR FRIENDS

Press info: “For several years, Grogan had a song inside of her that was desperate to get out. But it was little more than a casual idea, narrated by her inner voice, dancing around her head, reminding her of our shared humanity and ability to persevere through difficult times. She had an edgy bass sound as the foundation, and an opening lyric that she just could not stop thinking about: “Tell your friends to make amends, ’cause everything is about to blow.”

Grogan: “The song came from feeling overwhelmed by the amount of chaos, division,
and fear happening around us. “I found myself pulling more inward this year, and in
those moments when I step back into the world, I see the external chaos from a
different perspective.

So much of what surrounds us seems built around fear;
fear that divides people, fuels greed, and creates suffering.”

TUTV: Grogan‘s puissant voice carries this alarming power ballad throughout
its riveting course, peaking on the imposing chorus. Think Alanis Morissette in her
early days. Enthralling and engrossing. The song’s melodramatic structure emphasises today’s grim times. People always found a way to survive, we need to succeed now
too, pronto. Tell your friends.


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MIKE D – Former Beastie Boys Announces Debut LP – Read Info And Hear 4 Singles Right Here

Posted on by JL

20 July 2026

Hip-rap-hop zealots Beastie Boys entered the scene with their
soon-to-be 40-year-old (15 Nov 1986) debut LP Licensed To III
featuring their pyrotechnic chant Fight For Your Right.

In 2012, the band abruptly finished their journey following
the untimely death of co-vocalist and bassist Adam MCA Yauch
due to cancer.


Mike D with his band 5D, including his 2 sons – Photo by Sam Finelli

Now 14 years later, as previously reported, co-vocalist/songwriter
MIKE D (né Michael Louis Diamond, 60 years ago in NYC) returns solo.

He’ll share his debut LP THANK YOU on August 28th. More details here.


Album artwork

Mike D: “It’s been so much fun making this music with people I love and I have grown to
really appreciate in our collaboration. And I just hope it’s fun for others and not overly serious, because let’s be real, I’m releasing this music into a very strange and dark and power-fixated world that really devalues art and feelings and compassion and empathy and equality.”

“We so much loved all three of us being in a band with each other for Beastie Boys. When Yauch died, it was an extremely sad time for me so making music was just not on the table. Then being a dad was something I put myself into and eventually I worked on the ‘Beastie Boys Book’ with Adam (‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz] and that really helped both of us as we were really able to shine a light on our past together.”

Let’s hip and hop to the 4 singles (thus far).

– CRYPTO –

– SWITCH UP –

– WHAT WE GOT –

– TRUE COLOURS –

All 4 on Spotify


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Instagram – Spotify

HAVVK – Irish Alt Rock Duo Deliver New Intense Roller Coaster Album With ‘TIME WILL KILL’

Posted on by JL

20 July 2026

Band: HAVVK
Who: Steamy punk rock duo
from Ireland. Vocalist Julie Hough and
multi-instrumentalist Matt Harris

Album: TIME WILL KILL
Their 4th.

Press info: At its core, the album taps into a powerful,
universal tension: the race against time.

Vocalist Julie Hough has battled insomnia for many years and is diagnosed with ADHD, which continues to inform HAVVK’s work, with this new album delving deeper into themes of restlessness, vulnerability, and the fragile line between exhaustion and clarity.

It captures the restless feeling that life is moving faster than we can keep up, where unfinished to-do lists, lost passions, and the urge to make a real impact all collide.

Set against a backdrop of global and national unrest, the album confronts the guilt
and conflict of pursuing personal meaning while the world feels like it’s unravelling.

The album frames meaningful relationships as both a lifeline and a quiet act
of resistance, highlighting the human drive to stay present in an unstable world.

TUTV: HAVVK alternate punked-up belters with flaming torch songs. Julie Hough‘s
gutsy vocals infuse all tracks, speedy or slow, heavy or quieter, with tenacious panache. She ventilates and challenges her mental health problems with all the force she has in
her heart and soul. It makes Time Will Kill a vociferous and intense roller coaster album.

ALBUM


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Album on Spotify
Instagram
Linktree

Summer Of 1988 – July 19th BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Plays Historic Concert Behind The Iron Curtain In East Berlin

Posted on by JL

Every day of this summer we go back to the same summer day somewhere in history

19 July 2026

On 19 July 1988, 36 years ago, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN played a historic concert. It was his first ever in East Berlin behind the Iron Curtain in front of 180,000 people. The show was broadcast on East German TV.

Full show.

TWIN TEMPLE – Los Angeles’ Satanic Doo Wop Duo Stir With Melancholic 60s-Inspired Musing ‘DOOMED LOVERS’

Posted on by JL

Reveries for the laziest day of the week

19 July 2026


New album artwork – photo by Travis Shinn

Artists: TWIN TEMPLE
Who: Los Angeles-based spouses who
describe their music as Satanic Doo Wop.

The pair will launch their new, 3rd album, named
Doomed Lovers on October 9th. More info here.

TT about the new album: “We wanted to push ourselves creatively and expand the
production further than we have before, drawing inspiration from the lush orchestral productions of Roy Orbison, The Ronettes, and The Shangri-Las, and added in some Countrypolitan flair. We wanted to make something as beautiful as we possibly could,
of course with our dark spin on things.

“The truth is, this album was made during one of the darkest periods of our lives. We had been struggling with grief, health issues, addiction, and depression. But day by day, going into Sunset Sound, making music with incredible people who believed in us, and being surrounded by that creativity slowly brought us back to life. We started smiling and laughing again. I was becoming alive again. It connected us to why we fell in love with music in the first place and became our most personal album yet.”

The first single is the title track Doomed Lovers.

60s teardrop love melancholia.
Think Nancy Sinatra and Brenda Lee.


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New Compilation ‘DAVID BOWIE: THE SHEL TALMY RECORDINGS’ Featuring 10 Unheard Songs Out In September

Posted on by JL

19 July 2026

A new compilation of DAVID BOWIE‘s 1965 recordings with famed American
producer Shel Talmy (1937-2014), who worked with several big UK bands at
the time such as The Kinks and The Who, will land on September 18th.

Order info HERE.

It features 10 unheard tracks from his early years when he was starting out
in swinging 60s London as Davy Jones, some featuring a young Jimmy Page.

Here’s one.