Welcome to the BroBible New Music Round-Up, where we have to admit, did not think Jesus Is King’ would be released today.

For more follow me on Twitter:  @ryanoconnell79

This Week’s Playlist

With nothing new from Kanye West out yet (Spoiler: we do have new music from Kanye, but like, it’s not that great,) here’s a playlist of New Music Round-Up’s favorite Kanye songs. This way you at least have something to listen while you wait for Jesus Is King to come out.

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This Week’s Releases

Mumford & Sons “Blind Leading the Blind”

So Thursday morning, I was driving into work and like I’m sure most people, needed a break from listening to the news. I turned to a music channel and found a station that was halfway through “I Will Wait” by Mumford & Sons.

Huh, I thought. Haven’t really listened to these dudes in a while.

And I did just that and you know what, I LOVED IT. “I Will Wait” is a super sneaky great song to play loud while you’re driving. I’m not sure where it lands in the official rankings; I’ll have to get back to you on that one. But it’s up there.

Fast forward a couple hours and word comes out that those same Mumford & Sons I had to listened to earlier and had single-handily saved my morning commute, had released a new song. If the universe was trying to tell me to get back into Mumford & Sons, then that son of a gun wasn’t being subtle about it.

The new tune is their first new release since Delta, the album they released last year. Oddly enough, the tune was hugely influential on that album’s sound. They just never finished it, hence why it didn’t make the cut.

Eighteen months later, it’s done, thanks in large part to inspiration from legendary author John Steinbeck.

There’s nothing out to indicate that the song is part of an album set to be released anytime soon, so stand by on that one.

Coldplay “Orphans,” “Arabesque”

About a week ago, news started coming out that not only was Coldplay set to release a new album next month, but it’d be a change in direction for them. It would also be a double album.

I haven’t been keeping track, but that seems to check off most of the mid-career, looking to rejuveniate their career album boxes.

Let’s see, does it deal with heavy issues currently plaguing this world of ours?

“[The album] is our reaction to the perceived negativity that’s everywhere,” frontman Chris Martin explained recently on BBC Radio 1. “And there is a lot of trouble, but there’s also so much positivity and so much great life happening. So in a way, it’s just trying to make sense of things, saying what we feel and what we see.”

Yes! They did it!

Good work, Coldplay.

These two new songs are the first to be released from Everyday Life, which is set to be released on November 22nd. The album comes in at 16 tracks, split up between two discs, “Sunrise” and “Sunset.”

It’s their first new studio album since 2015. Since then, they’ve released two EPs and a live album in 2018.

Kanye West Jesus Is King

Right off the bat there’s this: as of this posting on Friday morning, Jesus Is King has yet to be released. We have a track listing, but that’s it. West tweeted out an update late Thursday/early Friday, in which he said that they were still working on the album.

https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1187599352820224000

Twitter obviously had some thoughts and no, not all of them were positive.

UPDATE: Jesus Is King was released around noon. Act quick though, Kanye might pull it any minute to rearrange the track list.

Three items of note regarding to Mr. Kanye West from this week:

First off, West held a Jesus Is King listening party in L.A. on Wednesday and if anything, it’s proof that the album exists and that’s something. The event included a showing of his new Jesus Is King movie and most importantly, tracks from the new album.

Then on Thursday, West sat down with Zane Lowe for a wide-ranging interview. The interview took place up at West’s home away from home, Wyoming, and as can be expected with a Kanye West interview, it went in a lot of directions.

Some takeaways:

• West still plans to run for president in 2024, which is awkward because I’m not sure we’ll still be a democracy by then.
• He is addicted to porn and has been since he was five. His porn addiction led to a sex addiction, an addiction that in some Kanye way led to The Taylor Swift Incident.
• While recording Jesus Is King, he first thought about having all of his collaborators fast during recording, but settled on insisting they not participate in pre-martial sex. Kanye is nothing if not reasonable.
• He claimed he was both “the most liberal human being” and “the “greatest artist in human existence.”
• He addressed his beef with Drake, saying “You cannot be in service to God and be mad at your brother,” he said. “I walk over to Drake’s house with no security and leave my phone number, like, ‘Here’s my phone number.’ I’m not trying to ring the door bell, he might be busy. He got a studio in there, just think he recording at all times.”

Finally, on Thursday, West appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which is spending the week in Brooklyn.

Again though, still no album. (This was written this morning, now there is an album and I apologize for being snarky.)

I feel like that’s the most important part. Or maybe it isn’t anymore.

In the meantime, you can check out a deep dive I did into West’s discography and breaking down the different eras of his career.

Major Lazer & Khalid “Trigger”

I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that video games have soundtracks now, but whatever. Thanks to the new Playstation 4 game Death Stranding, we get a new Major Lazer track, the fourth new tune they’ve dropped this year.

“Trigger” features Khalid on vocals and as far as Major Lazer tunes goes, it’s more low key than usual. Still good though, just a few levels below their standard operating gear.

Major Lazer are set to release their new album Lazerism officially “at some point.”

Don’t stress it dudes. No one does release dates anymore. Just drop that shit whenever, we’ll be fine.

The Wood Brothers “Alabaster”

The Wood Brothers typically play solid, down home jams. Been doing it for a while, they’ll probably be doing for the foreseeable future. Their new tune, “Alabaster” is no different. It’s a straight up country groove.

If the new tune does feel slightly different though, I’d say it’s one of the first tunes they’ve done that has traces of some of the garage funkiness of Medeski, Martin & Wood, bassist Chris Wood’s other main gig. I for one, kind of dig this incorporation of Wood’s other band with The Wood Brothers.

The band’s new album, Kingdom In My Mind, comes out January 24.

Josh Homme Desert Sessions Vol. 11 & 12

When not playing with Queens of the Stone Age or even better, Them Crooked Vultures, Josh Homme likes to hang out in the California desert and record songs with his friends. The result is The Desert Sessions and on Friday, Homme released volume 11 and volume 12 of the series. It had been sixteen years since Homme last released something from the eclectic series.

The two sessions, called Arrivederci Despair and Tightwads & Nitwits & Critics & Heels features appearances by Les Claypool, Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and more. The sessions were recorded at Homme’s studio at Joshua Tree in California.

Homme talked about the appeal of recording out in the desert in a recent interview, saying that “there’s a bit of mental disrobing that goes on as you drive to the desert. On the way to Joshua Tree …. you really empty your pockets of the residual of trying to protect yourselves.”

So like, can Them Crooked Vultures get back together now, please?

Elsewhere in Music…

We Knew What You Were Up To, Tame Impala

Earlier this week, a video appeared on Tame Impala’s website that featured Kevin Parker working in the studio. Now a few years ago, such a video would have been met with much speculation, but now, now we’re seasoned professionals. We knew what that meant.

A few days later, our (lack of) speculation was confirmed when the band announced they’d be releasing a new album next year. The Slow Rush is the highly-anticipated follow-up to their excellent 2015 release Currents.

So far this year, the band dropped two new tracks, “Patience” and “Borderline.”

Probably Won’t Find This Gig On Indeed…

Everyone would love to find a job that finds them doing something their passionate about. If you love animals, you want to be a veterinarian and if you love cooking, you want to be chef.

Well, if you really love rolling blunts, it’s hard to find such a gig.

That is unless you have won the lottery and landed a job rolling blunts for Snoop Dogg, which is legitimately a job.

During a recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Snoop said that his staff includes a “P. B. R.: Professional Blunt Roller.” On top of that, the job pays between $40-50,000 a year.

Why waste time becoming a teacher when you can make almost the same amount of money rolling blunts for a legendary rapper, am I right?

This Week in Nailed It

You Did WHAT, Iggy Pop?

Iggy Pop has reached the point of his career and life, where if he told you he had done something back in the day, you’d believe him. All you’d have to do is take one look into his eyes and immediately know that this dude has done some wild, crazy shit in his life and you’d be a damn fool to question him.

In a recent interview, the punk legend was talking about past drug use, specifically about allegedly sticking his tongue into a light socket. It was an “electric train transformer” he said, correcting the obvious falsehood.

But he wasn’t done.

“I tried spider webs too, I tried to smoke them. You know you’ve got to start somewhere.”

Do you though, Iggy Pop? Do you really?

Necessary Content

https://twitter.com/mattwhitlockPM/status/1186405566970769408

You’re Gonna Want to Check This Out

Slow Burn is an excellent historical/true crime podcast that in it’s first two seasons has gone deep into Watergate and the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal. For their third season, the pod is turning to one of the biggest music mysteries of the past thirty years.

Who killed Biggie and who killed Tupac?

Slow Burn’s third season kicks off next Wednesday.

And We’ll End Here

 

See you next week!