Welcome to the BroBible New Music Round-Up, where we feel this is a safe space to casually whisper that we’re kind of over “Old Town Road.” For more follow me on Twitter:  @ryanoconnell79

This Week’s Playlist

In honor of My Morning Jacket (a New Music-Round favorite) celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of their debut album, Tennessee Fire, this week’s playlist is a mix of my favorite MMJ tunes.

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Haim “Summer Girl”

It’s definitely been a minute (or about two years to be specific) since we got something new from Haim and I’m going to be honest, it’s nice to have these gals back in our lives, even if it is with just this one tune.

Earlier this week, Haim dropped “Summer Girl,” as well as the video, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The tune is effortlessly cool; amazing in it’s simplicity. Between the straight forward back beat and the sax line that floats throughout the song, the tune has an easy summer afternoon vibe to it. Don’t let that vibe fool you though, as the song’s subject matter is actually pretty heavy.

“This song started out as a garage band demo in my phone with just a bass line, drums, some gibberish and a doot doot doot little melody,” Danielle Haim tweeted earlier this week. “I wrote it around the time my partner was diagnosed with cancer a couple years ago while we were making STTY. (he’s in the clear now!)”

Danielle reportedly remembered the song a few months ago and asked Rostam Batmanglij if he could add anything to it. “He wrote the sax part within the first couple minutes of working on it and it all clicked,” Danielle tweeted.

If the song reminds you of Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wild Side,” you’re not alone as Rostam and Danielle noticed that as well. Instead of running from the comparison, they steered right towards it, with Rostam adding “this stand up bass part on top of the electric bass part.”

No word on a new Haim album though.

Death Cab for Cutie “Kids in ’99”

Death Cab for Cutie just keep plugging along. “Kids in ’99” is the first single from their upcoming EP, The Blue EP. It’ll be their new release since 2018’s Thank You For Today.

On Twitter, the band said that the new EP is “a collection of five new tracks that share a similar conception but different births. We love these songs and can’t wait for you to hear them.” I find that description of the songs confusing, but that could just be me. Like, were they recorded differently or maybe in different places? I have to admit, it makes me curious.

I was also a little curious about how Ben Gibbard, the band’s frontman, ended up on the new Chance the Rapper album because come on, that just seems weird. According to the band, all roads lead back to Bonnaroo, which I suppose makes sense.

The Blue EP is slated to be released on September 6th.

Amerigo Gazaway The Notorious J.B.’s: The B.I.G. Payback

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Amerigo Gazaway is a California-based DJ who specializes in the secret science of creating mash-ups. And he’s good at it too. There’s a lot of cats out there fronting as mash-up artists, but Gazaway is the real deal.

Through his ‘Soul Mates’ series, Gazaway has created mash-ups featuring Common and Stevie Wonder, Fela Kuti and De La Soul, Mos Def and Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding and Outkast, and Nina Simone and Lauryn Hill. His latest project merges the funk stylings of James Brown with the legendary flow of the Notorious B.I.G. and as with his past collections, Gazaway fuses the work of both artists seamlessly.

You can find the full album, The B.I.G. Payback on YouTube. It’s also available to download at Gazaway’s Bandcamp page.

Mikal Cronin “Show Me”

Listen, we’ve all come to a point in our lives where it seems as if our best course of action is to pack everything up and retreat into the woods, find a nice quiet cabin and take some time to get things back on track. Mikal Cronin is no exception and if anything, he’s different because the dude actually did it.

Staring down the barrel of writer’s block and wrestling with the eternal bummer that is heartbreak, Cronin found himself a nice little cabin in Idyllwind, located a few clicks west of the home of Coachella. He spent a month there, hammering out tunes for a new album and living that recluse life.

“It was so quiet and peaceful,” Cronin says in a press release. “I got weird looks at the store. I got bug bites that didn’t heal for months. I walked around a small lake a few times. I wrote. I took literally something that’s usually a hypothetical, something every artist thinks about doing. It worked.”

My dude is like an infomercial for disappearing into the woods as an artistic endeavor.

The product of his seclusion is his new album, Seeker, which is Cronin’s first since 2015’s MCIII. Backed by Ty Segall’s band, Cronin channeled both The White Album-era Beatles and nature in the studio, elements of both that can be found in the album’s first single, “Show Me.”

Seeker comes out on October 25th.

BROCKHAMPTON “I Been Born Again”

BROCKHAMPTON sounds like the name of so many movie characters. It could fly as the name of a cop or a football player or a former football player that becomes a cop. But for our purposes here, it’s simply BROCKHAMPTON. The capital letters are a must.

The group’s new track, “I Been Born Again,” is their first release following their wildly successful 2018 album, Iridescence, which Consequence of Sound named one of 2018’s best records. The tune, which starts off relatively harmlessly, builds with each member’s verse, is their first single off of their upcoming album, GINGER.

Or maybe it is?

At this point, we don’t really know. We don’t even know when GINGER is coming out. There’s a website that the group has been plugging on Twitter that features a bunch of GINGER-related merchandise, as well as a countdown clock.

BUT WHAT IS IT COUNTING DOWN TOO???

No one knows. Not even Detective Brock Hampton.

North Mississippi Allstars “Up and Rolling”

I suppose it’s time the hippies down south got some love and who better to give them their due than North Mississippi Allstars? “Up and Rolling” is the title track for the band’s newest record, which is due out on October 4th.

The track, which features Luther Dickinson sharing lead vocal duties with Sharisse Norman, is a smooth as a lazy Sunday afternoon in late July number. According to Dickinson, the tune “is about good times” and based on just one listen, I’d say his story checks out.

Creedence Clearwater Revival Live at Woodstock

Don’t be confused. This is not from this summer’s Woodstock because as we will outline in a few, that ain’t happening.

Nope, this is from the original Woodstock, where Creedence, who was set to follow the Grateful Dead on Saturday night, didn’t hit the stage until well after midnight. It’s notable that the band is finally getting their hour-long set out there because the band had refused to allow their performance to be included in the 1970 movie about the festival or the soundtrack.

Three songs did appear on Woodstock 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur’s Farm, a box-set released in 2009 commemorating the festival.

The band’s set features several CCR classics like like “Green River,” “Bad Moon Rising” and “Proud Mary.” It’ll be available on vinyl as well as digitally.

The Hip Abduction “Welcome to The Party”

Here’s the thing about “the party” that The Hip Abduction are referring to in their new song, “Welcome to The Party,” the party was in our hearts the entire time.

No, I’m serious.

“‘Welcome to the Party’ isn’t about a physical place or event, it’s just a state of mind. Certain people just have it,” frontman David New told Jambase.

Told you so.

The jam band’s new single is their first off of their upcoming album, To The Ends Of The Earth. The band’s fourth album is set to be released next Friday, August 9th.

Rapsody feat. D’Angelo, The GZA “Ibtihaj”

Songs oozing with that undeniably delightful summer vibe seem to be a constant this week with Rapsody’s latest song hoping into the mix. The track will appear on the rapper’s upcoming album Eve and is bolstered by D’Angelo singing the hook and GZA dropping in for a verse towards the end.

Last month, Rapsody told Essence that on her new album she’s looking to champion and push female empowerment, saying that Eve is “my ode to the women in my life who have made me who I am, but at the same time I realize it’s bigger than me. It’s more about the village of black women.”

Eve is set to be released later this month.

Elsewhere in Music…

So Like, Woodstock 50 is Back On?

No, not it isn’t.

But Ryan, you’ve said that before.

Yes, yes I have.

So what makes this time different.

This time it’s serious.

Metallica: Cougar repellent

Dee Galant and her dog Murphy were out for a walk in Vancouver recently and while out on their walk, spotted something unusual.

They spotted a cougar.

And guess what? The cougar had spotted them.

“It was crouched down, doing that kind of prowl, predator walk that they do — that was when I waved my arms and yelled, ‘Hey, you stop!’ and it did,” she recalled.

But not for long and soon Gallant realized that dear god, it was coming right for them. Gallant had to think fast. Obviously she couldn’t outrun a cougar. It’s a cougar. While not a leopard or a puma, cougar’s are still pretty effin’ fast.

Her quick thinking led her to an unusual, but in hindsight, pretty clever decision.

“I thought it was the noisiest thing on my phone that would probably scare it, that was also the message I wanted to convey to the cougar.”

And that was…

Yeah, she scared the thing off with Metallica, specifically “Don’t Tread on Me” from The Black Album.

“As soon as the first notes blared out, it ran into the bush,” said Galant.

Gallant says she would love to thank the band some day for saving her and her dog’s life, but I would preach caution. Lars is liable to ask for some royalties on that action.

This Week in Deep Thoughts with Cardi B

Following up on this, her grandma might be right.

We’re Here For Anniversaries (cont’d)

This week’s big anniversary that we are celebrating is the 20th anniversary of My Morning Jacket’s debut album, Tennessee Fire. As is par for the course, the band is also celebrating, releasing a deluxe 20th anniversary version of the LP.

The release checks all the boxes when it comes to anniversary-celebrating, special releases.

• The original 16-track album
• A second 16-track bonus disc featuring rarities, including several previously unreleased songs, demos and alternate versions of album cuts
• It will be released digitally, and as a double CD set and a triple LP vinyl set.

What? No book? That’s kind of lame.

In addition to the release, the band is playing a one-night only show at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York on August 9th, where they’ll play the album in its entirety. Besides a pair of shows at Red Rocks in Colorado and one in nearby Queens, New Yoirk, it’s My Morning Jacket’s only shows scheduled for this summer.

Get Guy Fieri on an “Old Town Remix” For God’s Sake!

Some Good News for Tool Fans

Tool are set to release Fear Inoculum, their first album in 13 years, on August 30th and today gave their fans a little thank you gift. All of the band’s previous records are finally available on streaming services.

That means 1993’s Undertow, 1996’s Ænima, 2001’s Lateralus, and 2006’s 10,000 Days, as well as their debut EP, Opiate EP will be available because come on now, we’ve all lost our CD books at this point.

“Our obsession with, and dream of, a world where BetaMax and Laser Disc rule has ended,” singer Maynard James Keenan said in a statement. “Time for us to move on. But never fear. There’s a brand new thing we think you’re really gonna dig. It’s called Digital Downloads and Streaming. Get ready for the future, folks!”

Tool are nothing if not hilarious jokesters.

And We’ll End Here

 

See you next week!