Welcome to the BroBible New Music Round-Up where we vow to work as hard as the singer of a Kiss cover band whose effin’ hair caught on fire and HE KEPT SINGING! For more follow me on Twitter:  @ryanoconnell79

2020 might have gotten off to a rocky start (and truth be told, may still be in the midst of the aforementioned rockiness) but it’s not all doom and gloom. 2020 is a big year for the Foo Fighters. The band is celebrating its 25th anniversary and if you have read this column before, you know how I feel about anniversaries.

To celebrate, this week’s playlist features twenty-five of my favorite Foo Fighters’ tunes.

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This Week’s Releases

Pearl Jam “Superblood Wolfmoon”

Okay, this is more like it. This is the Pearl Jam we know and love.

I mean no disrespect to the last song they released, “Dance Of The Clairvoyants,” a song that took me a minute to get used to and now I kind of like it, but this second single off of their upcoming album Gigaton is significantly more Pearl Jamish.

Why?

Well because it rocks, that’s why and if I’ve learned anything over the past couple decades is that Pearl Jam rocks. I’ve also learned the movies are liars sometimes, although this is something I’ve picked up on more recently as I’ve been listening to this podcast about John Dillinger that if anything, proves that the movie Public Enemies is literally 20% accurate at best.

But anyway, we’re talking about “Superblood Wolfmoon,” which is also a fantastic band name for what would definitely be a terrible glam rock, thrash band.

The song is somewhat refreshing as the initial talk about Gigaton was that it was going to be a more experimental album. And that’s fine. Bands are going to experiment and as fans, we’re generally cool with it provided that there are traces of familiarity to the experimenting.

“Superblood Wolfmoon” is familiar.

Mission accomplished Pearl Jam.

Lettuce “Checker Wrecker”

Lettuce have been in a hell of a zone for these past few years. Going back to 2015 when they released Crush, the band has been on a tear.

In 2016 they released Whit’s Picks, Vol. 1 (Live) and Mt. Crushmore and in 2017 they tipped their caps to Miles Davis with Witches Stew. Their last album, Elevate, came out in 2019 was nominated for a Grammy.

For a band that spent the first decade of the century mostly busy doing other things, this second decade has seen them back in the saddle with a renewed interest in all things Lettuce.

And they’re not slowing down either.

Earlier this week they announced that they had a new album, Resonate, coming out in May. The new album, which is their seventh studio album, features songs recorded during the Elevate sessions.

“Resonate is a definite continuation of the vibe of Elevate,” the band said in a statement. “There’s brand-new tracks on it along with some stuff that we’ve only played live at shows. When listening to Resonate, we hope you can feel the groove, be moved to dance and allow it to shine a bright, positive light on any lingering negative vibes. We want the good vibes we have as brothers, a band, and musicians to resonate with those that hear this record and see us live.”

The album’s first single, “Checker Wrecker” is a loving ode to go-go music and features two Washington D.C. go-go legends, Trouble Funk’s Big Tony Fisher and Tyrone “Jungle Boogie” Williams of Rare Essence.

“Go-go music is the style of music that links funk to hip-hop and this song is a tribute to that groove,” Lettuce stated. “Having Tony and Boogie, iconic go-go legends, as features on the track gives it even more of a boost in energy and swagger.”

For more go-go goodness and more Trouble Funk, check out the band’s 2018 NPR Tiny Desk Concert appearance.

Major Lazer, MC Lan, Anitta “Rave De Favela”

Listen, don’t watch the video for this song at work.

Just don’t okay.

Depending on where you work, it might not end well.

This is the latest internationally-sampled tune from Major Lazer and it features Brazilian singers MC Lan and Anitta. It’s fun and reminds me of something you’d hear while on a relaxing tropical vacation.

But again, you probably shouldn’t watch the video at work.

The Avalanches feat. Blood Orange “We Will Always Love You”

It took sixteen years for The Avalanches to produce a follow-up to their debut album, Since I Left You. When Wildflower was released in 2016, it was very reasonable to assume it would be at least a decade until the Australian DJ’s released something new.

Well, guess what?

A little over a week ago the group started leaving clues that they were working on something new and then earlier this week they released a new single featuring Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes. The group announced the new song via morse code that was transmitted on the top of the Capital Tower in Los Angeles because at this point everyone has seen Parasite (although not everyone is a fan) and can’t get enough of it.

The group also released a statement about the song, transmitted not in morse code because you know, it’s long. That shit would take forever.

Sometimes we receive a message. Telling us our music has been there; through dark times, loneliness, loss.
There are no words to express how moving or profound this connection with you is.
Because the music was born out of such moments itself, and so it is felt, by those with open hearts, on the same wavelength it was first created.
Morse Code beamed and received by hearts and hearts alike
Our new record is about such journeys, from darkness to light. About life after (all kinds of) death. About the transcendent nature of music itself.
Every voice ever played on the radio over the last 100 years now exists in the stars; the transmissions of these singers are forever floating around out there, lost in the cosmos, endless travelling.
Tonight Smokey Robinson duets with Dev Hynes and The Roches. Those spirits are out there.
We are each a tune, floating in space.
And this one’s for you.

The takeaways here?

There’s a new Avalanches album coming out and the ending of Parasite really sticks with you.

THAT DOESN’T MEAN THEY NEED TO MAKE A TELEVISION SHOW ABOUT IT THOUGH!

Sorry, just needed to get that off my chest.

RJD2 feat. STS & Khari Marteen “Pull Up on Love”

Man, a lot of DJs this week, huh?

Oh well.

Next up is a new release from RJD2. The song, which features vocals from STS and Khari Marteen, comes from the DJ/producer’s new album, The Fun Ones.

It’s his first new album in four years.

The Fun Ones also features appearances by Phonte Coleman, Kid Koala, Mr. Lif, Son Little and more. It comes April 17th on RJD2’s own label Electrical Connections.

Radiohead Released Some Remixes

When I said I liked anniversaries earlier, I was not kidding. If we don’t celebrate the milestones achieved by artists we love, then what’s the point, am I right?

This year Radiohead is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their landmark album Kid A and they also have recently opened up the Radiohead Public Library, an online digital archive for all things Radiohead.

On Thursday night, the band threw an extended version of “Treefingers,” a delightfully blissful track from Kid A, up on the site.

Other new additions to the library include a remixed version of “Talk Show Host,” which was a highlight from the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack, as well as a The Bends-era B-Side, and a reworked version of Hail To The Thief’s “The Gloaming.”

Vandoliers “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”

You’re not crazy. It is the song you are thinking of.

However, it’s a fun, rowdy-as-hell, shit-kicking version of The Proclaimers’ song done by Vandoliers, a cow-punk band from outside of Dallas.

The band’s lead singer Josh Fleming calls it “one of the greatest love songs ever written,” but they were not solely interested in paying tribute to the song when they decided to cover it.

“One time Mark [Moncrieff, the band’s bassist] made us listen to it 60 times in a row when he was drunk,” Fleming told Rolling Stone. “So we covered it to give him a reminder of what he has done.”

That’s the kind of vindictive, spiteful move I can fully support.

Elsewhere in Music…

Lizzo & Harry Styles: A Love For Our Times

The Lizzo/Harry Styles love affair continues and at a time in our lives where the bad news is coming at us in merciless droves, this is the kind of positivity we desperately need.

If you’re just joining us, let me bring you up to speed.

First off, back in December Harry Styles was doing an appearance at BBC 1 Radio Live Lounge and while there, busted out a cover of Lizzo’s banger “Juice.” Pleasantries were exchanged between the two on social media, but alas, it was just the beginning.

Styles proceeded to add the song to his repertoire and played it at one of his shows supporting his new album Fine Line and he then joined Lizzo onstage during a pre-Super Bowl performance she did.

The whole thing is adorable.

Recently it was Lizzo’s turn to stop by the BBC Radio 1’s studio and while there, performed a smooth and sultry version of Styles’ “Adore You.” She also performed versions of her own songs, including “Good as Hell” and “Cuz I Love You.”

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be sitting here patiently waiting for a full-on collaboration album from the two.

It’s going to happen and when it does, well, let’s just say that you better enjoy the Internet now because that shit will break it.

Political Hot Takes From Billy Eichner

Your Weekly Appreciation of Billie Eilish

Celebrating What Would Have Been Kurt Cobain’s 50th Birthday

Thursday would have been Kurt Cobain’s 50th birthday and the occasion naturally sparked well-deserved tributes and Internet fodder. One of my favorites was by Rolling Stone, who shared 12 quotes from the late-musician.

Here are my favorite three quotes from the article.

“At this point I have a request for our fans. If any of you in any way hate homosexuals, people of different color, or women, please do this one favor for us — leave us the fuck alone! Don’t come to our shows and don’t buy our records.” –Incesticide liner notes

“We have this conflict between good and evil and man and woman because there are people doing evil things to other people for no reason, and I just want to beat the shit out of them. That’s the bottom line. All I can do is scream into a microphone instead.” –Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana

“I think rap music is the only vital form of music that has been introduced to music in a long time since punk rock. I would never do rap music. No. There’s just no sense in it. The people who do rap music do it just fine. I’m usually offended by people like Vanilla Ice and stuff like that. The white man ripped off the black man long enough. They should leave rap music to the African-Americans because they do it so well and it is so vital to them.” –Billboard, 1991

Here’s a playlist of my 20 favorite Nirvana tunes which I’ve been playing INCREDIBLY LOUDLY since yesterday.

And Speaking of Nirvana…

I heard about this dude while listening to Bill Simmons’ interview with Dave Grohl last week and since then I’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time on No Life Shaq’s YouTube page.

That dude is amazing and I’d recommend you check him out, especially when he’s checking out rock music.

It’s fantastic.

A Quick Look At The Summer Tour Scene

And We’ll End Here

 

See you next week!