Welcome to the BroBible New Music Round-Up, where we’re not mad with Kanye, we’re just disappointed. Actually, not even disappointed. That would imply we actually thought ‘Jesus Is King’ was coming out today. For more follow me on Twitter:  @ryanoconnell79

This Week’s Playlist

It’s fall and we’re entering the back nine of 2019. So let’s check and see how the Best of 2019 Playlist is doing.

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This Week’s Releases

Sturgill Simpson Sound & Fury

Listen, at some point, when it comes to music, I think we should ditch labels. What do they even mean anymore? How many bands or musicians out there are solely a rock band or just a country act? Everything is all mashed up together these days.

For instance, I’m listening to Local Natives as I write this and how the hell would you label them? Are they rock because they have guitars? I don’t know about you, but when I think of rock, I think of something slightly more uh, rock, than Local Natives. What about alternative rock, then? Would that work?

I DON’T KNOW ANYMORE. NO ONE KNOWS ANYMORE.

I bring this up because the label affixed to Sturgill Simpson is “country,” but I’m not sure we should be out here in these streets calling Simpson a country artist. Maybe he was at some point, but his last album, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, had more soul running through it than what I would typically consider country. It had elements of country in it, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was a country record.

Sound & Fury, Simpson’s latest record, looks to muddy the waters even more because between you and me, that shit ain’t country, bro.

I mean, honestly, does “Sing Along” sound like something produced by a country singer?

If one of these Democratic presidential hopefuls wants to tackle the challenge of getting rid of labels in music, they have my vote, that’s for damn sure.

But yes, Sound & Fury is Simpson’s follow-up to his truly magificent 2016 album, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, an album that scored a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. He didn’t win. He did however take home Country Album of the Year because apparently my dude is a country artist despite the fact that he really doesn’t play country music.

Guys, he opened for Guns ‘N Roses for crying out loud. Sturgill Simpson is not a country singer, case closed.

His new album looks to drive that point home. In a New York Times profile, he described the album as a “sleazy synth-rock dance record.” And just in case you want further proof that Simpson has headed in a new direction, I would point you towards the lyrics to “Make Art Not Friends” where he sings “This town’s gettin’ crowded / Truth’s been shrouded / Think it’s time to change up the sound” and “I love to say no to all the yes-men / Just to see the look on their face.”

Much like the Old Taylor Swift, the Old Sturgill can’t come to the phone right now. He’s dead.

Or is he?

It feels like the version of Simpson has been there all along and if anything, is just a version of the real dude himself. Simpson has bucked convention for a while now, so the idea of him exploring the aforementioned “sleazy synth-rock dance” music on the new record shouldn’t actually be that surprising. Surprising would be people continue to call label him “country” after the record’s release on Friday.

You can check out Rolling Stone’s review of the album for more.

Kanye West Jesus Is King

Uh, dude.

Kim said it was coming out. She tweeted about it earlier this week.

But then like, only a few days later, maybe it wasn’t coming out. Reports from Billboard and Variety, said things had changed and now the release was delayed.

New York Times music reporter Joe Coscarelli added to the speculation, saying that music industry insiders are getting mixed signals and they themselves aren’t sure what’s going on.

“People on the ground in Wyoming?” Like, ranchers and stuff?

Truth is, who the hell knows. It’s Kanye.

Does this look like a man with a plan? Or at the very least, a desire to stick to a designated release schedule?

Remember, this new album of his was originally supposed to come out last winter and judging by the leaves starting to fall around me, it’s fall, meaning we’ve already gone through two seasons waiting for a new Kanye record.

What’s one more season, right? Nothing says the perfect Christmas gift like a record entitled Jesus Is King.

Foo Fighters 01070725

The Foo Fighters celebrate their 25th anniversary next year and in the run up to this special occasion, they’ve been dropping EPs as part of the Foo Files. Each EP highlights a specific year and this latest one pulls from 2007, when they released Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace.

The five-song EP features covers by Arcade Fire and Dead Kennedys and “If Ever, a B-side from their 2007 album. It also features a cut from a Japanese edition of the album and a demo of “Come Alive,” which was featured on the album.

About a week ago, they released 00050525 – Live In Roswell.

Next week?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Jimmy Eat World “All the Way (Stay)”

Did you know that Jimmy Eat World have been around since 1993? I didn’t. I just saw that and did a double take.

Sure, it feels as if “The Middle” has been in our lives forever, but damn man, 1993 was a long as time ago.

They’re still kicking around though and earlier this week, announced that their 10th album, Surviving, would be coming out in mid-October. With the announcement, they released “All the Way (Stay,)” which thankfully doesn’t sound like anything but a Jimmy Eat World song.

The chorus is catchy as hell, the music is lively and it sounds like something you’d want to blast while driving fast down the highway. I appreciate that after all these years, the band is still keeping it real with their sound.

Surviving comes out October 18th.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds This Is The Place

I can’t decide if Noel Gallagher calling his solo project Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds is a cool move or a super lame move. On the one hand, I like that it’s not Noel Gallagher and the High Flying Birds because where’s the originality in that? Going with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds does get him points for being original and Gallagher definitely seems like the kind of dude who is into score points.

The “High Flying Birds” part is kind of lame, though. I think that’s what trips me up.

As for the music, the band has definitely done some good work. A track like “In the Heat of the Moment” is legitimately a good rock song. It’s not their fault that anything they do is inevitably going to get compared to Oasis and subsequently going to pale in comparison. Following in the footsteps of giants is tough. Just ask Oasis. Those dudes tried to follow in the Beatles’ footsteps.

This latest EP is their second this year, following Black Star Dancing, which featured an ill-advised crack at 1980’s dance music. They last released a full-length in 2017, but really, why even bother with a full-length album these days?

In their review, NME called the EP “The Smiths meets ‘cosmic pop.'”

However you describe it, it’s got to be better than Gallagher trotting out a Bowie impression, which is what happened with the last EP.

Broken Bells “Good Luck”

The last time Broken Bells, the dynamic duo of Danger Mouse and James Mercer of the Shins, released a new album was back in 2014, when they released After the Disco. Both have been busy back at their day jobs since then, but this is now the second new song they’ve released in a year.

So like, maybe a new album?

To be fair, the last song they released, “Shelter,” came out in December of 2018. So it’s not as if they’re just churning out material out these days.

Or maybe they are?

The Grateful Dead Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991

It’s never a bad time to dive into a good Dead reissue. That’s a fact and it’s indisputable.

This latest one is a box set showcasing five shows the band did at the old Giants Stadium in 1987, 1989 and 1991. The set also includes a Blu-Ray of their show on June 17, 1991.

You can check out the setlist for each show here.

In other Dead news, the band also shared a pro-shot video of “Uncle John’s Band” from July 24, 1987. It’s the latest installment of their All The Years Live video series.

Elsewhere in Music…

My Money Was on Pitbull

On Thursday, the NFL announced that Jennifer Lopez and Shakira would co-headline the Halftime Show at February’s Super Bowl LIV in Miami.

In other words, it’s not Pitbull. I thought for sure it’d be Pitbull.

I stand corrected.

“Ever since I saw Diana Ross fly off into the sky at the Halftime Show, I dreamed of performing at the Super Bowl,” Lopez said in a statement. “And now it’s made even more special not only because it’s the NFL’s 100th anniversary, but also because I am performing with a fellow Latina. I can’t wait to show what us girls can do on the world’s biggest stage.”

At least it’s not Maroon 5. So we got that going for us, which I suppose is something.

It’s also not Pitbull.

It should be Pitbull.

Can we call someone about this? Does anyone have Jay-Z’s number?

This Week in So, What’s Kanye Up To?

Messing with us. That’s what he’s up to.

Yeah, That Sounds About Right

Haim: Fact Checker

Lil Nas X followed up his juggernaut “Old Town Road” with “Panini,” a song that was generally received with a “sure, cool.” And that was that.

But it wasn’t!

It turns out that part of the song sounds a lot like Nirvana’s “In Bloom.” It sounds so much like Nirvana that Kurt Cobain is credited as a co-writer, which is cute seeing as how young Lil Nas X had never heard of Nirvana.

Ugh. Kids, huh?

Anyway, Haim recently stopped by BBC’s Live Lounge and while their there, tested out how similar the songs really are.

That settles it then.

Case closed!

What’s Jason Isbell Tweeting About This Week?

HE’S NOT LYING! HE’S BEING SERIOUS.

We’re (Still) Here for Anniversaries

On Friday, little known British pop act, The Beatles, celebrated the 50th anniversary of Abbey Road with a massive box set. Sounds cool. Just a bummer know has ever heard of them.

Producer Giles Martin, whose father, George Martin, was the band’s go-to producer, produced remixes of songs taken from the original multi-track tapes of his father. And as is par for the course with these kinds of box sets, it’s stocked with outtakes, rarities, unreleased tracks and alternate versions of songs.

Ah, but does it come with a book, though? All the best anniversary-celebrating releases come with a book. If there’s no book, then like, what’s the point, am I right?

The set also includes “a 100-page hardback book with a forward written by Paul McCartney. The book is also full of handwritten lyrics, essays, and unpublished photos from McCartney’s late wife, Linda.”

Well done, lads. Well done indeed.

In other anniversary news, it’s been twenty years since the “Devil Can’t Write No Love Song” sketch on Saturday Night Live.

I also prefer the weekends.

A Few Words About Streaming From Patrick Carney of the Black Keys

And We’ll End Here

 

See you next week!