PRELUDE
This past weekend, Lollapalooza was held at Grant Park in Chicago. This year's headliners included Megan Thee Stallion, Kesha, Hozier, SZA, The Killers, Stray Kids, and Blink-182 to name just a few.
Chappel Roan's career is exploding at the moment, and while she wasn't technically a headliner, you'd never know based on the positively gargantuan crowd she drew. Aerial photos of her set show Grant Park bursting at the seams. If an avergae of 100,000 people attend Lollapalooza each year, every one of them were in attendance for Roan's set.
I'm much too old and misanthropic to do the huge festival scene anymore. Check that aerial photo linked above and tell me you'd want to be in the middle of that crowd. I doubt you'd want to be there either. Besides, the festival was livestreamed via Hulu which would be ten million times better than being at what amounts to one of the largest superspreader events of the year.
Covid-19 is surging all across the country right now.
Attending a music festival right now—even at outdoor one—is guaranteed to not only leave you broke (have you seen those ticket prices?) but sick, as well.
I know it's an inconvenient truth. I know people are tired of hearing about Covid. Trust me, I get it. I'm tired of hearing about it too. I'm tired of masking, of avoiding social interaction, of washing my hands fifty times a day.
But according to tons of friends and acquaintances I have who either currently have it or are just getting over it, these latest FLiRT variants are no joke. Most people I know don't have the luxury of being knocked flat on their ass for two weeks or more. I know I don't. So, while I know it's a pain in the ass to worry about it, it's a bigger pain in the ass to catch it and to suffer the potential long-term effects of long Covid.
My point is simply this: be safe out there. I don't want you to get sick. Mask up. Avoid crowds when possible. Wash your hands. Eat your veggies. Take your vitamins. Tip your wait staff. Drive it like you stole it. Smoke em if you've got em. Shake your asses. Wait...what the hell were we talking about?
Hey. Ho. Let's go...
Ground control to reader: Take your protein pills. Put your helmet on. This newsletter ain’t gonna read itself.
ON TOUR
💡 Now through November 23rd, Local Natives is on tour, gracing North American cities with their unique blend of what Flood Magazine calls “upbeat-yet-melancholy alt-pop.” Checktour dates hereand stream their gorgeous new album, “But I’ll Wait For You”here.
WEEKLY PLAYLIST
Zappagram #119 featuring: Maren Morris, Birdtalker, Soccer Mommy, Roo Panes, Kacey Musgraves, Houndmouth, Jack White, The Dead Weather
Listen onSpotifyorApple Music
Master playlist (compilation of all music) onSpotifyorApple Music
MUSIC NEWS
Johnny Cash will become the first professional musician to receive a statue in the U.S. Capitol. The likeness of the Man in Black will be unveiled during a morning ceremony at the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall on Sept. 24 and become part of the National Statuary Hall Collection.
During Green Day’s North American “Saviors Tour” kickoff show in Washington, D.C., on Monday (July 29th), Billie Joe Armstrong held up a Donald Trump mask with the word “IDIOT” written across its forehead. The frontman’s actions have caught the ire of MAGA supporters, some of whom are calling for a boycott on the punk band. The mask apparently was tossed to Armstrong from a fan in the front row.
The late Steve Albini is getting a street named in his honor in Chicago, Illinois, his longtime home. Thanks to an ordinance passed by Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, the 2600-2700 block of West Belmont Avenue in Avondale, between North Rockwell Avenue and North California Avenue, will officially be declared “Steve Albini Way.” This stretch is where his legendary recording studio Electrical Audio, which Albini and staff members helped build by laying bricks during the construction process, stands.
One group after another, they’ve been congregating over Zoom in support of Kamala Harris‘ presidential run: Women, men, Swifties, “White Dudes,” Bob Dylan fans. So why not “Deadheads for Kamala”? Although it sounds like a conservative talk-radio wisecrack, such a confab will take place on Aug. 13, in the hopes of bringing together new and vintage Dead fans as another potential voting bloc for Harris. The meeting was the brainchild of broadcaster Steven Leventhal, who owns the streaming radio station Acid Flashback Radio and has been a dedicated Deadhead since 1985.
Garbage have canceled all remaining tour dates through 2024 due to an injury sustained by singer Shirley Mason that will “require surgery and rehabilitation to correct.”
Prince has been posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The induction took place on Saturday, July 27th at a 40th anniversary screening of Prince’s Purple Rain at the Target Center in his native Minneapolis. His induction marks the second time the Songwriters Hall of Fame has awarded an artist posthumously after inducting the late Cindy Walker in April.
The deluxe edition of the late Elliott Smith’s major label debut album, XO, is getting its first-ever vinyl release. Limited to 4,000 copies, the 2xLP vinyl features every B-side, alternate version, and demo from the recording sessions of the classic album. It’s pressed on 180-gram brown vinyl and comes with a limited edition lithograph of Smith.
The legal battle between Journey keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Jonathan Cain and lead guitarist Neal Schon is still going, with the former filing a new lawsuit against the latter for alleged lavish spending at the band’s expense. According to Bloomberg, Cain’s lawsuit, publicly filed on Tuesday (July 30th), alleges that Schon maxed out an American Express credit card with a $1 million limit and blew past a $1,500-per-night hotel allowance, while also chartering private jets and hiring a friend as a security guard. The keyboardist also accuses the guitarist of preventing the band from paying its debts.
Bryan Ferry has announced Retrospective: Selected Recordings 1973-2023, a wide-spanning box set that celebrates 50 years of the artist’s career. To accompany the announcement, the Roxy Music member also unveiled a cover of Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs to Me,” which previews a series of upcoming digital EPs. Listen to the new cut below. Due out on October 25th and boasting 81 tracks, Retrospective: Selected Recordings 1973-2023 collects Ferry’s output with Island Records, Polydor, Virgin, E.G. Records, and BMG. The set covers 16 of his solo albums and features two new recordings, including “Star,” Ferry’s first new original material since 2014.
Jeff Tweedy has announced a U.S. tour, taking in a number of cities where the Wilco frontman rarely performs. Bookended by three-night residencies in Woodstock, New York, and Menlo Park, California, the run is preceded by a pair of separate appearances in Illinois, one in-conversation at the Evanston Folk Festival and the other a solo performance at Navy Pier’s Chicago Live! event. Check out the dates here.
Fleetwood Mac have announced a live album, Mirage Tour ’82, collecting 22 recordings from their 1982 shows at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Among them are six previously unreleased recordings from the first of the two nights, including versions of “Landslide,” “Don’t Stop,” and “Never Going Back Again.” Rhino will release the album on September 20 in 3xLP, 2xCD, and digital formats.
An unfortunate series of events involving John Mayer, his index finger and a truck door have rendered his left index finger unusable for the foreseeable future. The musician shared an image of his bandaged appendage on Instagram, where he revealed in the caption that he’ll only have three functioning fingers at his disposable during his upcoming performances with Dead & Company.
Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo have announced that their first three studio albums will be reissued on limited-edition vinyl. Celebrating their early work, the married duo will unveil the new editions of the albums — 1979’s In the Heat of the Night, 1980’s Crimes of Passion, and 1981’s Precious Time — on September 13th via Ume. In addition to being available on standard black vinyl, each album will be printed on a special edition color variant.
Nick Mason has a plan for potentially sidestepping the longstanding feud between David Gilmour and Roger Waters to record new Pink Floyd music, and it naturally involves AI. In a recent interview with The Daily Mirror, the drummer admitted there’s no chance of a reunion between the surviving members of the band, but expressed an interest in using AI for a what-if scenario.
Justin Timberlake has submitted a not guilty plea to a revised misdemeanor charge in connection to his June arrest for driving while intoxicated in Sag Harbor, New York, CNN reports. The singer’s drivers license was also suspended in the state of New York.
Aerosmith are retiring from touring effective immediately after concluding that frontman Steven Tyler will not be able to recover from his vocal injury. Previously, Aerosmith postponed their planned farewell tour after Tyler sustained vocal cord damage and fractured his larynx during a concert in September 2023. Although the band had announced rescheduled dates to begin in September 2024, those plans have now been canceled, and the band has decided that no further touring is possible.
DJ Randall, the influential UK drum’n’bass DJ and producer, has died, Mixmag reports, citing his representatives. He was 54 years old.
B-SIDES
Rolling Stone published The 50 Worst Album Covers of All Time. From rock to rap to country and beyond, it’s an assortment of images that you can’t unsee no matter how hard you try.
Z-REX
The Shore was one of the best, most original and obscure bands of the last twenty years. Here's a clip I found of them performing on Last Call with Carson Daly, circa 2008. Check out their albums available on your streaming service of choice.
NEW RELEASES
Howard Jones: Live at the O2 • Kacey Musgraves: Deeper Well: Deeper Into the Well • Maren Morris: Intermission EP • Meshell Ndegeocello: No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin • Orville Peck: Stampede • The Smashing Pumpkins: Aghori Mhori Mei • Ween: Chocolate and Cheese (Deluxe Edition) • X: Smoke & Fiction
RELEASE RADAR
AUG 9 - Beabadoobee:This Is How Tomorrow Moves • Bluhm: Midnight Hill • f*cked Up:Another Day • Futurebirds: Easy Company • Justin Townes Earle:All In: Unreleased & Rarities • King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard: FLIGHT b741 • La Lom: La Lom • The Ocean Greys: Static EP • The Smashing Pumpkins: (Rotten Apples) The Smashing Pumpkins Greatest Hits (Vinyl Release) • Tom Verlaine: Songs and Other Things (Vinyl Reissue)
AUG 16 - Blind Pilot: In the Shadow of the Holy Mountain • Foster the People: Paradise State of Mind • Ray Lamontagne: Long Way Home • Shelby Lynne: Consequences of the Crown
AUG 23 - Bryce Dessner:Solos • Fontaines D.C.:Romance • Gillian Welch & David Rawlings: Woodland • Lisa Loeb & The Hollow Trees: That’s What It’s All About • Mark Lanegan: Bubblegum XX (Reissue)
AUG 30 - Jon Hopkins:Ritual• Los Bitchos: Talkie Talkie • Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds:Wild God• Oasis:Definitely Maybe (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) • Ty Segall:Love Rudiments • U2: ZOO TV – Live In Dublin 1993 EP
SEPT 6 - Alanis Morissette: Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (Thank U Edition) • David Gilmour: Luck and Strange • Eva Cassidy: Walkin’ After Midnight • The Flaming Lips: The Soft Bulletin (25th Anniversary Vinyl Reissue) • The Heavy Heavy: One of a Kind • Max Richter:In a Landscape • Mercury Rev:Born Horses • MJ Lenderman:Manning Fireworks • Neil Young:Neil Young Archives Vol. III Takes
ON THIS DATE
AUG 5 -Birthdays: Pat Smear (1959) • Adam Yauch (MCA) of The Beastie Boys (1964) • David Crosby was sentenced to five years in jail in Texas for cocaine and firearms offenses. He slept through most of his trial. (1983) • Famed drummer, Jeff Porcaro, died age 38. (1992)
AUG 6 - Birthdays: Andy Warhol (1928) • Elliot Smith (1969) • Stevie Wonder was seriously injured when the car he was riding in crashed into a truck near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, leaving him in a coma for four days. The accident also left him without any sense of smell. (1973) •The Wallopened in movie theaters in New York. (1982)
AUG 7 - Birthday: Raul Malo (1965) • John Lennon began recording his final album, 'Double Fantasy' at The Hit Factory, in New York City. (1980) • A prehistoric crocodile was renamed in late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister’s honor. The creature, formerly called "Steneosaurus" obtusidens, was now known as Lemmysuchus obtusidens. (2017)
AUG 8 - Birthday: The Edge (1961) • The photo session for the cover of The Beatles Abbey Road album took place on the crossing outside Abbey Road studios. (1969) • Janis Joplin bought a headstone for the grave of her greatest influence, Bessie Smith, at the Mount Lawn Cemetery in Philadelphia. Smith had died in 1937 after tragically being refused admission to a whites-only hospital. (1970) • British-born Australian singer, actress and activist Olivia Newton-John died from cancer at her home in California, aged 73. (2022)
AUG 9 - Birthday: Whitney Houston (1963) • Ten original Gerald Scarfe drawings for Pink Floyd's albumThe Wallwere stolen from the foyer of Earls Court, London, where they were being exhibited. (1980) • Jerry Garcia died from a heart attack at the Serenity Knolls rehabilitation clinic in San Francisco aged 53. (1995) • Baltimore's mayor proclaimed this day as the city's official Frank Zappa Day, citing Zappa's musical accomplishments as well as his defense of the First Amendment. (2007) • Canadian musician, songwriter, producer, Robbie Robertson died at the age of 80, after a year-long battle with prostate cancer. (2023)
AUG 10 - Birthdays: Ronnie Spector & Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull (1947) • Singer/songwriter Julia Fordham (1962) • Isaac Hayes died from a stroke at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 65. (2008)
AUG 11 - Birthdays: Joe Jackson (1954) • Ben Gibbard (1976) • Led Zeppelin played their last ever UK show when they appeared at Knebworth House, England. (1979)
CODA
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May your days be long, and may your vinyl records be scratch-free,
-CZ 🤘🏻🖤
