Welcome to the BroBible New Music Round-Up, where it could just be the quarantine talking, but I didn’t find the news that Eddie Van Halen once pulled a gun on Fred Durst nearly as surprising as I feel like I should have. For more follow me on Twitter:  @ryanoconnell79

It’s a rainy Friday here on the east coast and we’re still stuck inside, shit’s getting weird and people are encouraging people to not drink bleach no matter what some people say.

To cope, I’m turning to our favorite Nashville Tweeter Jason Isbell because if he can’t get us through, I don’t know who can.

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In related news, Isbell is doing his part to help out local record stores who have been hit especially hard as of late. With his new album Reunions set to be released on May 15th, Isbell is making the album available a week early provided you buy it at a local record shop. The album’s price tag will be reduced as well, a move that they hope will increase sales.

Record Store Day 2020, which is hugely beneficial to small music stores, was postponed, with the date being move from April to late June, another blow to a long-time staple in towns and cities across the country.

This Week’s Releases

Kacey Musgraves “Oh, What A World 2.0 (Earth Day Edition)

God, it feels like a lifetime ago that Kacey Musgraves cleaned up at the Grammys with her amazing album Golden Hour.

It was in 2018, which technically isn’t that long ago, but in quarantine times, yes, it’s a lifetime ago.

In celebration of Earth Day 2020, which was earlier this week and celebrated it’s 50th anniversary, Musgraves released an updated version of the Golden Hour stand-out track, “Oh, What A World.”

“There is a lot to feel downhearted about on this Earth Day,” Musgraves said in a statement. “Everyone and everything feels out of balance. People are suffering and the future is uncertain.”

“I’m just a songwriter but my hope is that if I bring the light I have in my spirit to the table, maybe it could be a form of energy that lifts someone else’s spirit for a moment. Oh, What a World — dedicated to our planetary home and all the quiet heroes this Earth Day: you’re the northern lights in our skies.”

The reworked version of “Oh, What a World” isn’t as tech-heavy as the original, and instead, the song features more acoustic guitar and a bouncing backbeat. It’s uplifting and positive and still has some of the dream-like qualities the original has.

Musgraves is currently raising money for the World Wildlife Fund and there’s a “donate button” over at YouTube.

“The earth is healing,” she said. “Bluer skies hang over China and Los Angeles. Clearer water and a positive effect on wildlife is being seen. In spite of all its troubles, it’s still a wild, beautiful world and if you need proof, it’s out there.”

Not to be negative, but I kind of do need proof “it’s out there.”

You know, because of the whole quarantine thing.

The Rolling Stones “Living In A Ghost Town”

Hey, do we need a new song from The Rolling Stones?

Eh, probably not.

We have enough, right?

Oh yeah. Tons.

But this song is actually kind of good, huh?

Yeah, it is. I mean, it sounds like a dozen or so other Rolling Stones’ songs, but still, not bad.

It’s true. This new song from the Stones, the band’s first new tune in eight years, does sound like a dozen or so other Stones’ songs. But I mean, at this stage of the game for both the band and their fans, I think that’s a good thing.

No one wants the Stones to get heavy or go emo or get super weird and electronic at this point. If the Stones are going to release a new song, we want an easy beat, smooth, dueling guitars, and Mick Jagger’s voice, which is exactly what we get with “Living In A Ghost Town.”

The band is currently working on more songs for a new album, slated to come out later this year.

Well, provided there is a later this year. Again, pandemics gonna pandemic, kid.

Travis Scott, Kid Cudi “THE SCOTTS”

Last week, Kid Cudi dropped “Leader Of The Delinquents” and now a week later he’s back, this time teaming up with Travis Scott for “THE SCOTTS.”

“THE SCOTTS” premiered on Thursday night during Travis Scott’s “Astronomical” experience on Fortnite.

The song’s title comes from the presence of Scott in both rappers’ names. Cudi’s name is Scott Mescudi. It’s like when Meg Ryan and I teamed up back in the ’90s with our country music song “THE RYANS.” Same thing.

This isn’t the first time the two rappers have worked together. Cudi appeared on Scott’s 2016 album Birds In The Trap Sing McNight.

And you know, now that I think of it, it’s been like ten or twelve years since I last talked to Meg. Quarantine has proven to be a wonderful time to reconnect with old friends, though. Let’s get the band back together, Meg Ryan.

The Texas Gentlemen “Ain’t Nothin’ New”

The Texas alt-country band The Texas Gentlemen are gearing up to release their second album Floor It!!! this summer and this week, they released the first track from the album, “Aint’ Nothin’ New.”

The track is pure seventies rock gold, complete with prog-rock style synthesizers, horns, and group vocals singing things like “what’s a man to do?”

“Nik [Lee] and I wrote this song with the hardships of our life as traveling musicians in mind, but I hope it’s a pretty universal message,” Daniel Creamer recently told Rolling Stone. “It’s about working your ass off all your life and never really experiencing the security that you often expect could be just around the corner.”

The band’s first album, TX Jelly, came out in 2017 and since then, the band has worked as a backing band for fellow Texan Leon Bridges as well as Nikki Lane.

If you’re unfamiliar with the band, I’d suggest checking out the song “Habbie Doobie” from TX Jelly.

Floor It!!!, which will come with a board game featuring game pieces looking like band members, comes out on July 17th.

LaMP “Some Days”

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This one is for the kids in the jam band circles as LaMP is a supergroup of sorts, featuring keyboardist Ray Paczkowski and drummer Russ Lawton of the Trey Anastasio Band and guitarist Scott Metzger of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead.

The group made their debut in 2018 at Nectar’s in Burlington, Vermont, but this is their first official release.

“With the world on pause, we got to thinking about how music is so unifying during times like these, and thought now was as good a time as any,” the band said in a statement.

The band began working on material following that Nectar’s show, eventually making it into the studio last summer. As of now, there’s no news regarding an album or future releases.

Duck Sauce “I Don’t Mind”

In normal times, I wouldn’t necessarily be feeling this new track from Duck Sauce, the duo of A-Trak and Armand Van Helden. But as has been pointed out lately, these aren’t normal times.

In quarantine times, I’m all for throw back-infused dance jams.

That’s exactly what this new jam is. It has a driving beat, weird vocal samples, and simple, repeating keyboard lines. The bass line is especially juicy.

Now if there were normal times, I’m sure this would be great for clubs and the like, but alas, here in quarantine times, this is prime music to crank while cooking or literally bouncing off of the walls, which is what I intend to do later today unless anyone else has any ideas.

Quarantine Times, baby! Our dance music has become cooking music.

The Killers “Fire In Bone”

The Killers were slated to release a new album, Imploding the Mirage, at the end of May but announced this week that due to COVID-19, they were postponing the release. A new date has yet to be announced with the band saying in a statement that they “will be receiving a new release date in the coming weeks due to delays in finalizing the album.”

So there’s that.

On the (Mr.) bright side, the band released a new track from the album, the deliciously bouncy and upbeat “Fire in Bone.”

“Fire in Bone” is the second song The Killers have dropped from the new album. The lead single “Caution,” which features Lindsey Buckingham, was released earlier this year.

Elsewhere in Music…

This Week In Not Bad, Guys

Like a lot of us right now, musicians are stuck at home. And also like a lot of us, they’re trying to figure out how to pass the time. You can only do some many acoustic songs on Instagram Live, right?

The New Jersey hardcore band Thursday decided to make the best of the situation, as well as the building stockpile of t-shirts they had ready to go for upcoming tours that would be subsequently canceled because of COVID-19. After talking through some options, the band realized that those shirts could be repurposed into face masks, something people are in dire need of right now.

From Pitchfork:

“(the band) began donating the fabric to grassroots sewing collectives along the East Coast like SewYouCare and FaceMask Warriors. They also started selling factory-made Thursday-branded facemasks on their website, with proceeds going toward masks for frontline healthcare workers.”

Other bands started following their lead.

Taking Back Sunday began selling their merch at discounted prices and giving fans the option to donate the cost of a mask in addition to their shirt purchase. The recently-reunited My Chemical Romance is selling fabric face masks to benefit MusiCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund as Billboard has reported that branded face masks are growing in demand because of course, they are.

You can be safe, but you want to look cool too.

Metallica Mondays > Non-Metallica Mondays

You can add Metallica to the list of acts launching a series where they share old concerts as a way to keep fans engaged, joining the likes of Phish, Pink Floyd, and Radiohead. The band started #MetallicaMondays after canceling upcoming dates due to the Coronavirus.

The most recent show was a show in Germany in 2015 that featured Metallica classics like “Master of Puppets” and “Enter Sandman.”

Shows stay up until the next one is released. Shows go up on Monday nights at 8PM est.

This Week in Nailed It

A Quick Public Service Announcement…

That’s members of Galactic, The Revivalists, Jurassic 5, and more performing the 1930’s calypso song “Wash Your Hands.”

The video is a benefit for the Galactic-founded Tip-It Foundation, which helps the greater New Orlean’s musical community.

Uh, Thanks, But No Thanks, Post

We get it. Musicians are bored and are looking for a way to get out there and perform for fans.

No really, we get it.

However, we still need to have standards, right?

Like, Post Malone doing a live stream of him performing Nirvana songs seems like a bridge too far, right?

We don’t need that in our lives, right?

Yeah, I didn’t think so.

However, if for some reason Post Malone performing Nirvana songs is something you’re interested in, it’s happening Friday evening at 6PM est.

UPDATE: Props to Post because his Nirvana-centric raised $2.5 million for COVID-19 relief. Good work, sir.

I Mean, Maybe?

This Week In ‘Thanks, I Needed That’

The BBC Radio’s Live Lounge series has become a go-to when it comes to seeing artists perform unique covers and re-worked versions of their own songs, but with everyone stuck at home, they decided to get creative.

Foo Fighters, Dua Lipa, Chris Martin, Ellie Goulding, Sean Paul, Sigrid, Biffy Clyro, Rita Ora, Zara Larsson, Hailee Steinfeld, 5 Seconds Of Summer, YUNGBLUD, Bastille, Royal Blood, and more were recruited to perform a reworked version of Foo Fighters’ “Times Like These.”

I don’t know who the red-haired female singer is who kind of looks like a wizard, but her voice is amazing. I also like how Dua Lipa just looks like she’s checking emails.

And We’ll End Here

 

See you next week!