ALISON MOSSHART, half of the splendid The Kills, released her
first far-out solo tracks this year withRise and It Ain’t Water.
And as so many artists did before, while sitting at home instead of being
on the road, Alison also came up with a cover. She picked State Trooper,
a haunting masterstroke from Bruce Springsteen‘s 1982 album Nebraska.
In an interview with Forbes she said: “One of my favorite car songs, which I just
covered and I f**king love is “State Trooper,” by Bruce Springsteen. I’m obsessed with
that song. I just can sit and sing it all day. I love how cinematic it is, I love it’s so visual.
So that may be my favorite car song.” Full interview here.
New Jersey-based artist Jack Antonoff, better known by his artist
name BLEACHERS released his latest album Gone Now 3 years ago.
As one of the most wanted producers of his generation, he’s busy 24/7 in studios recording with a variety of singer-songwriters. But he must have found an empty
hour in his agenda recently, as he just came up with a new song.
CHINATOWN is a melodramatic power ballad, growing slowly but surely in fervor and passion along its fullhearted way. And when Bruce Springsteen kicks in you know why he’s there. Simply because Chinatown is a Springsteen-esque ear-catcher.
Antonoff: “It’s the honor of a lifetime to be joined by him. He is the artist who showed me that the sound of the place I am from has value and that there is a spirit here that needs to be taken all over the world.”
NME says: “The Boss’ triumphant 20th album features three songs he wrote in his 20s, the
rest grappling with age and mortality… It’s a message that Springsteen returns to almost 40 years later on the meditative ‘Letter To You’, his triumphant 20th album. The question now, though, as Springsteen hits his 70s and watches good friends and family members pass away, is: do they actually? Where he once sang of the mortality of fictional characters, it’s now that much closer to home. That he seems a touch overwhelmed is no surprise… It’s also his best work in 20 years…A powerful synthesis of past and present, ‘Letter To You’ shows us the strength that can be found in sorrow. The result is Springsteen’s finest album since 2002’s ‘The Rising’.”
Full review here. Score: 5/5.
Bruce Springsteen: “I love the sound of the E Street Band playing completely live in the studio, in a way we’ve never done before, and with no overdubs. We made the album in only five days, and it turned out to be one of the greatest recording experiences I’ve ever had.”
Turn Up The Volume: “The Boss for president.”
Key lines: “I’m alive / I can feel the blood shiver in my bones /
I’m alive and I’m out here on my own.” – lines from Ghosts
Released: 17 October 1980 – 40 years ago Score: #1 in the US and Canada, #2 in the UK
Pitchfork wrote: “Bruce Springsteen’s fifth album gushes forth with the fury of a burst dam, delivering torrents of despair, inspiration, heartbreak, and joy… ‘The River’ brought Bruce to those heights, giving him his first number one album and Top 10 single, but it’s hard not to think of it as not a beginning but an end, the last record where he and the E-Street Band were not the biggest band in the land but merely the best.” Score: 8.5/10.
Bruce: “The E Street band casts a pretty wide net. Our influences go all the way back to the early primitive garage music, and also, we’ve had everything in the band from jazz players to Kansas City trumpet players to Nils Lofgren, one of the great rock guitarists in the world.”
Five new firecrackers to bang-up your favorite 48 hours…
‘Blind Youth Industrial Park’ by METZ (Toronto)
Another clamorous knockout you need a police permit for to play it when your neighbors are at home. Rumour goes that the Richter scale collapsed when the Canadian three-piece recorded this haymaker. Their new longplayer Atlas Vending hit the streets on 9 October .
‘What Are Friends For?’ by THE SONDER BOMBS (Cleveland, Ohio)
New label for the UK/EU and new single for this rollicking 4-piece. “From the very beginning we knew this was a song that we wanted people to shake their butts too! I was dancing my heart out while tracking vocals for this one and I think that hype energy really came through in the final product” says frontwoman Willow Hawks about the new ripper. She’s definitely right.
It’s steamy, electrifying, swirling, and big fun! Get it now via Big Scary Monsters.
. ‘Eletric War‘ by OSEES (Rhode Island, US)
Now I’m totally sure.John Dwyer never sleeps, he’s a 24/7 music-making maniac. Last week Osees‘ new LP Protean Threatcame out and Dwyer already drops a new red-hot-blooded jackhammer from an upcoming EP. The man says: “People need some tunes right now and I think the artists community is making a good run of it. So much great shit is seeing light right now.” Thank you, John!
‘Hear Me Out’ by PIXIES “All I’m trying to say is it’s alright” sings bassist Kim Deal, oh sorry… Paz Lenchantin. The glimmering guitar-driven pop song is actually from the sessions for their 2019 album ‘Beneath The Eyrie . It will be on a 12″ vinyl single, out October 16, with also a cover of T-Rex’s ‘Mambo Sun‘.
‘Ghosts’ by BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
The Boss who turned 71 yesterday and was born to run
still dances in the dark. His new album Letter To You is out on 23rd October.
Clips that will have an impact on your eyes and your ears…
Last July the New York City tramps RICH GIRLS shared their shadowy
version of Bruce Springsteen‘s 24 karat masterstroke BORN TO RUN.
Turn Up The Volume wrote: “I’m pretty sure the band chose this classic cracker with
a specific purpose as the story of this 45-year-old standout – released in 1975 – is highly relevant again in today’s Divided States Of America. Rich Girls do not rock as much as the original, they give it a more haunting and yes, more gloomy timbre. Born in the USA
to run away in 2020.”
To visualize their cover sentiments the band made a film noir clip which reflects
the Signs O’ the Times perfectly with frontwoman Luisa Black eye-catchingly sensual
and sexy in the middle.
TURN UP THE VOLUME 