Jenny Lewis and Chicago-based rapper Serengeti (aka David Cohn) have announced an unexpected gift just ahead of the holiday season: “Unblu” – available now via Jenny’s own label Loves Way, with an accompanying video directed by Jenny.
“Unblu” was produced by Jenny and Andrew Broder.
In a note to fans, Jenny and Serengeti recall their fortuitous meeting and how their collaboration flourished despite quarantine lockdown:
Jenny met Dave down a long hallway in a former Communist Media Center in East Berlin during the People Festival of 2018. Dave asked Jenny to sing on a song about Tom Selleck passing on the part of Indiana Jones. Can you imagine a world where Tom Selleck is Indiana Jones?
A fast friendship was born as they skulked about, cracking jokes and chatting about their mutual love for boxing.
Jenny threw a show for Dave at Dino’s in East Nashville when they returned from Europe. The bartenders said it was the best show they ever had. Jenny was among the 9 fans that attended and danced their asses off.
To cap the torrid evening, Dave said “J, I need 7 tracks! Just piano or guitar or whatever!” Jenny inquired if one would do?
Then the world shut down and Jenny & Dave hunkered down in Los Angeles & Chicago, respectively. Jenny smoked weed every day and Dave stayed totally sober.
The result is five songs made on Jenny’s iPhone, for Dave. Beats, bass, drums, digital tanpura & topline, sent via text, ripe for Dave’s poetry. To accompany the music, Jenny made videos on her phone during the witching hours, editing while under the covers.
Then Jenny texted the tracks to another People alumnus–Andrew Broder in Minneapolis—who co-produced and mixed the songs, taking them from Garageband phone music to music that gently thumps you. Music to dance around your living room in a Day-Glo bathing suit to. Music to go bananas to while watching the news & Forensic Files on mute.
“Sentimental yet strong, a bit wistful, but as always, looking ahead.”— The AV CLUB
“McCartney returns to the pastorale sound of his early solo work for a laid-back gem… Like its two predecessors, it’s Macca at his most playful. He’s not sweating about being a legend, a genius, or a Beatle— just a family man kicking back in quarantine, writing a few songs to keep his juices flowing.”— ROLLING STONE
“With McCartney III, the Cute Beatle makes a spectacular return to form, produces one of his most compelling albums in decades, and reminds us that at age 78, his musical chops are as exquisite and profound as virtually anyone’s. Ever.”— SALON
Unforeseeable production delays have forced the release date of Paul McCartney’s all-new all-Paul album McCartney III to be moved back one week to December 18, 2020.
Paul’s first new album since 2018’s #1 charting Egypt Station, McCartney III is a stripped back, self-produced and, quite literally, solo work in the tradition of 1970’s McCartney and 1980’s McCartney II. Recorded earlier this year during “Rockdown” in Sussex, McCartney III is mostly built from live takes of Paul on vocals and guitar or piano, overdubbing his bass playing, drumming, etc. atop that foundation. The process first sparked when Paul returned to an unreleased track from the early 90s, When Winter Comes (co-produced by George Martin). Paul crafted a new passage for the song, giving rise to album opener Long Tailed Winter Bird—while When Winter Comes, featuring its new 2020 intro Winter Bird, became the new album’s grand finale.
The newest advance taste of McCartney III surfaced today in the form of a brand new trailer featuring an excerpt of the album track “The Kiss of Venus.” To have a look and listen, go to https://PaulMcCartney.lnk.to/MC3trailer2PR
Additionally, pre-orders are now live for the McCartney III Songbook. Featuring piano/vocal/guitar arrangements for every song from McCartney III and including a McCartney III CD with every copy, McCartney III — Songbook can be pre-ordered now at https://PaulMcCartney.lnk.to/SongbookPreOrderPR
Just as McCartney’s classic 1970 solo debut marked Paul’s return to basics in the wake of the biggest band break-up in musical history, and the 1980 avant-garde masterpiece McCartney II rose from the ashes of Wings, McCartney III finds Paul back on his own, turning unexpected circumstances into a personal snapshot of a timeless artist at a unique point in history. The new album will be released by Capitol Records across digital platforms, on CD, and on LP manufactured by Third Man Pressing. Vinyl configurations will range from standard 180g to a Third Man Edition of 3,000 hand-numbered red vinyl copies, a U.S. indie retail exclusive pressing of 4,000 hand-numbered white vinyl LPs, and more.
We here at nasty hope you are hanging in there safely and in good health as we humbly present our best of 2020 list:
New Albums
NICK CAVE:Idiot Prayer – Nick Cave Alone At Alexandra Palace (Bad Seed Ltd.) EOB: Earth (Capitol Records) GORILLAZ: Song Machine: Season One – Strange Timez (Warner Records) PAUL McCARTNEY: McCartney III (Capitol Records) METALLICA & SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY:S&M2 (Blackened Recordings) WOODKID:S16 (Caroline Records)
Reissues
PAUL MCCARTNEY:Flaming Pie (MPL/Capitol/UMe) RAMMSTEIN: Herzeleid (XXV Anniversary Edition – Remastered) (Vertigo/UMe)
Singles & Miscellaneous
FOO FIGHTERS: “Shame Shame” (Roswell Records/RCA Records) THE SHINS: “The Great Divide” (Aural Apothecary/Monotone Records) METALLICA & SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY:S&M2 (concert film release)
And with the nominations for the 63rd annual GRAMMY Awards just revealed, we would like to congratulate our artists on the following nominations:
Best Alternative Music Album “Hyperspace” — Beck
Best Music Video “Goliath” — Woodkid — Yoann Lemoine, video director
Best Music Film “Beastie Boys Story” — Beastie Boys — Spike Jonze, video director; Amanda Adelson, Jason Baum & Spike Jonze, video producers
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical “Hyperspace” — Drew Brown, Andrew Coleman, Shawn Everett, Serban Ghenea, David Greenbaum, Jaycen Joshua & Mike Larson, engineers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer (Beck)
Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package “Flaming Pie (Collector’s Edition)” — Linn Wie Andersen, Simon Earith, Paul McCartney & James Musgrave, art directors (Paul McCartney)
Best Recording Package “Vols. 11 & 12” — Doug Cunningham & Jason Noto, art directors (Desert Sessions)
Due to popular demand, Metallica’s Helping Hands 2020 streaming party benefitting the band’s All Within My Hands foundation has been extended. The live show may have ended, and the auction has closed, but there’s a little more time to catch this unique, worldwide concert event on demand. Ticket packages will be available to purchase until 11:59 PM PST on Giving Tuesday, December 1st at https://nugs.tv/assets/nugstv/metallica.html.
Metallica thanks all those who supported AWMH by watching, donating and participating in the online auction. Thanks to the fans and generous sponsors, Metallica’s first ever pay-per-view event live-streamed on November 14 has raised over $1.3 million thus far. Those funds will be used to work with partners at Feeding America and the American Association of Community Colleges, along with supporting Covid and disaster relief efforts in the coming months.
All Within My Hands is a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation established in 2017 as a way for the Metallica family to give back to communities that have supported the band. Just this year, AWMH has donated $645,000 to COVID-19 related relief funds including Feeding America, Direct Relief, as well as to charities assisting those in the entertainment and hospitality industries suddenly without work. More recently the foundation donated $350,000 to aid those affected by the West Coast wildfires. Finally, the foundation’s Metallica Scholars Initiative is now in its second year, supported by a $1.5 million grant benefiting 15 community colleges across the country.
Metallica and All Within My Hands are committed to running an organization of the highest integrity where expenses are kept to a minimum and are paid for entirely by the band, the board, and friends who have worked with the band over many years and are excited to help in this mission. As always, 100% of proceeds from this years Helping Hands event—tickets, fees and auction items—will go directly to help those in need, with Metallica and the foundation covering all production costs and expenses.
CHECK OUT “SHAME SHAME” PERFORMANCE ON THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT HERE
APPEARING ON AMAZON MUSIC’S HOLIDAY PLAYS DECEMBER 15
MEDICINE AT MIDNIGHT OUT FEBRUARY 5, 2021 ON ROSWELL RECORDS/RCA RECORDS
See Foo Fighters as they’ve never been seen before, as all six members subject themselves to Times Like Those, a 25-year visual journey through the band’s most memorable moments onstage and off. Featuring merciless firsthand commentary, Times Like Those finds Foo Fighters making the most of their pandemic downtime, as they narrate a carousel of versions of the band and its individual members’ various versions of themselves over the years—some with different hair, some bigger, some smaller, some with different numbers of toes…
In other news, the band beamed into The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for a November 19 performance of “Shame Shame,” the first single from its forthcoming 10th album Medicine at Midnight (Roswell Records/RCA Records), that can be seen here. Medicine at Midnight is due out February 5, 2021, and “Shame Shame” was released November 7, the same night the song made its live debut on Saturday Night Live—see that performance here foofighters.co/SNL.
Additionally, it was announced today that Foo Fighters will be one of the global superstar acts keeping the spirit of the school holiday pageant virtually alive via Amazon Music’s Holiday Plays. On December 15, the guys will ring in the school concert season and spirit with an exclusive performance of something new, something festive, and a few everlong—sorry—evergreen numbers. Visit http://foofighters.co/AmzHoliday for details on how / where to watch and other info.
But before all that, kick back and spend 25 years packed into half an hour with Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee, and relive Times Like Those with them. You’re guaranteed to be impressed at their surprisingly intact memories of experiences on and off stage from 1995 to the present, from Seattle to Iceland, and numerous points on the globe and timeline between and beyond.
Breathtaking…an exorcism of death, religion and romance’NME *****
‘Idiot Prayer is extraordinary, breathtakingly varied within its minimal format, and compelling throughout’ MOJO *****
‘one of our greatest, living, singer-songwriters’ Record Collector *****
‘The performance of a lifetime’UNCUT 9/10
‘Cave’s maximalist craft and charisma charge a minimalist occasion with magnetism and meaning’Total Film *****
‘Stately and beautiful’Independent **** ‘The most beautiful and sombre performance he’s ever given’ The Telegraph ***
Following the extraordinary response to the online streaming event in July, Nick Cave releases the album of the performance, Idiot Prayer – Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace, out now on vinyl, CD and streaming services worldwide.
Idiot Prayer – Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace was recorded in June 2020 as the UK slowly emerged from lockdown, and was conceived as a reaction to the confinement and isolation of the preceding months.
In Idiot Prayer, Cave plays his songs alone at the piano in a rarely seen stripped back form, from early Bad Seeds and Grinderman, right through to the most recent Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds album, Ghosteen.
The performance was filmed by award winning Cinematographer Robbie Ryan (The Favourite, Marriage Story, American Honey) in Alexandra Palace’s stunning West Hall. It was edited by Nick Emerson (Lady Macbeth, Emma, Greta). The music was recorded by Dom Monks. Buy the album now at nickcave.com/idiotprayer
“he sang in only the way Nick Cave can — something like a gut punch and an embrace at the same time.” – Rolling Stone
“The most beautiful and sombre performance he’s ever given”– The Telegraph
“Breathtaking…an exorcism of death, religion and romance” – NME
“Stately and beautiful” – Independent
Following the extraordinary response to the online streaming event in July, Nick Cave is releasing a live recording this Friday, November 20th. Idiot Prayer – Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace will be available on vinyl, CD and streaming services worldwide.
Spinning Song Idiot Prayer Sad Waters Brompton Oratory Palaces Of Montezuma Girl In Amber Man In The Moon Nobody’s Baby Now (Are You) The One That I’ve Been Waiting For? Waiting For You The Mercy Seat Euthanasia Jubilee Street Far From Me He Wants You Higgs Boson Blues Stranger Than Kindness Into My Arms The Ship Song Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry Black Hair Galleon Ship
Foo Fighters are taking literally no time to bask in the ecstatic reception to their November 7 Saturday Night Live debut performance of “Shame Shame,” the first taste of the 10th FF album, Medicine at Midnight, due out February 5, 2021 on Roswell Records/RCA Records—well, maybe a few seconds, after all Entertainment Weekly did call it a “hypnotic earworm,” Stereogum lauded its “refreshing twist on their signature sound,” and Billboard noted “a groovy, sexy beat”… and that’s quite enough of that because…
On Saturday, November 14th at 5pm Pacific Time, Foo Fighters will be regrouping to mount a full on rock invasion of your living room, when they play a full set streamed live from the Roxy in Hollywood for any and all who buy a ticket for $15 at http://foofighters.co/Roxy. If you can’t be in front of a TV, tablet, phone, laptop etc. at exactly that time, don’t worry: Ticket buyers will have access to replay the full stream for 48 hours from the start of the show. And if that’s not enough… Limited event merchandise will be available at https://shop.foofighters.com/.
Foo Fighters’ Roxy streaming concert event is brought to you in part by the good people at Coors Light, and will feature innovative new technology custom created for this one of a kind Foo Fighters show: Beer’s Eye View. For 25 years, Coors Light has been on stage – and in hand – with Foo Fighters. Now for the first time, Beer’s Eye View will take fans behind the scenes backstage, into the thick of the action onstage, and to the best seat in the house (the VIB a/k/a Very Important Beer section)—all from the unique perspective of a live “Can Cam” attached to Dave’s own Coors Light.
In other boundary breaking Foo Fighters visual news, the official video for “Shame Shame” has premiered at http://foofighters.co/Shame/youtube. Directed by Paola Kudacki and co-starring Dave Grohl and Sofia Boutella, “Shame Shame” renders in stunning black and white an interpretation of a recurring dream that’s haunted Grohl since his childhood days.
Medicine at Midnight is available for preorder at http://foofighters.co/MAM with exclusive configurations including a purple smoke vinyl available only through the band’s online store and an indie retail-only blue vinyl, and more to be announced.
A portion of proceeds from Foo Fighters’ Roxy streaming show will go to Sweet Relief. Founded in 1993 by Victoria Williams, Sweet Relief Musicians Fund provides financial assistance to all types of career musicians and music industry workers who are struggling to make ends meet while facing illness, disability, or age-related problems. Sweet Relief is providing immediate assistance to anyone in the music industry who has been financially impacted by COVID-19. Applications are being accepted now, please apply for help or DONATE if you can at SweetRelief.org.
Coors Brewing Company was founded in 1873 by Adolph Coors, who chose the Clear Creek Valley in Golden, Colo., for his new brewery because of the pure water in the nearby Rocky Mountain springs. The brewery’s original and most enduring beer is Coors Banquet (Coors.com, Facebook.com/CoorsBanquet, YouTube.com/OfficialCoorsBanquet), still brewed exclusively in Golden using only Rocky Mountain water and high-country barley. Coors Light (CoorsLight.com, Facebook.com/CoorsLight, @CoorsLight on Twitter, @coorslight on Instagram, YouTube.com/CoorsLight) was introduced in 1978 and now is the second-best-selling beer in the United States. Triple-filtered smooth Keystone Light (KeystoneLight.com, Facebook.com/KeystoneLight) is one the country’s most popular economy beers. Learn more at MolsonCoors.com, at Facebook.com/MolsonCoors or on Twitter through @MolsonCoors.
NoCap, the brainchild of Roxy Theater co-owner and musician Cisco Adler along with an all-star list of partners in the music and tech industries, is both a platform and promoter of venue-based livestream concerts giving fans around the world access to intimate live performances with unlimited capacity. With its easy-to-use text-based ticketing technology and custom concert streaming solution, NoCap is providing a much-needed lifeline for artists, crews and venues suffering during the Covid-19 pandemic that will remain a viable outlet post pandemic while becoming the new general admission creating unlimited profit potential for a new live music model. NoCap gives fans globally a chance to experience live shows by top-tier talent in storied venues, including The Roxy (Los Angeles), Belly Up (Solana Beach, CA/Aspen, CO), SOhO (Santa Barbara), Sony Theatre ( NYC ) and even Drive-In Concert Venues across the country , from home or on the go with visually stunning concert-quality sound, creating unforgettable performances. For more info, visit www.nocapshows.com.
Foo Fighters just transformed Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in to a rock n roll party, with the first ever performance of their smoldering new single “Shame Shame” on the November 7 episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by friend of the band Dave Chappelle.
“Shame Shame” is the first taste of the band’s forthcoming 10th album, Medicine at Midnight, due out February 5, 2021 on Roswell Records/RCA Records.
Medicine at Midnight is available for pre-order as of… midnight (give or take)—including a limited edition purple swirl vinyl version, available exclusively at http://smarturl.it/FFOnlineStore.
Produced by Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters, engineered by Darrell Thorp and mixed by Mark “Spike” Stent, Medicine at Midnight packs the following nine songs into a tight-ass 37 minutes:
Making a Fire Shame Shame Cloudspotter Waiting on a War Medicine at Midnight No Son of Mine Holding Poison Chasing Birds Love Dies Young
Foo Fighters are Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear, and Rami Jaffee.
Out today, ‘The Valley Of The Pagans’ ft Beck is the latest episode from the critically-acclaimed ever-evolving Song Machine, which has seen Gorillaz take us through 2020 with a myriad of sounds, styles, genres and attitudes from a breath-taking line-up of guest artists captured live in Kong Studios and beyond. Listen to ‘The Valley Of The Pagans’ ft Beck here.
The video for the track, featuring BRIT and Grammy Award winning artist Beck, sees the idiosyncratic, West Coast infused ‘The Valley Of The Pagans’ blast through the band’s car stereo as 2D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel take a chaotic road trip through the streets of Los Angeles, with Beck joining the fun via FaceTime. Watch the video here NOW!
And coming on 12th & 13th December is SONG MACHINE LIVE, Gorillaz’ first live performance since 2018 broadcast live around the world with three separate shows taking place across three time zones through the magic of LIVENow. WATCH TEASER HERE
Episode 2 of Song Machine Radio– hosted by Russel Hobbs – will broadcast on Apple Music 1 at 8pm GMT this Friday 6th November. Episode 1, hosted by 2D, is available to hear now here. The four-part series sees 2D, Russel Hobbs, Murdoc Niccals and Noodle team up with collaborators past and present to share their world and music in celebration of Song Machine and reflect on 20 years of Gorillaz.
The complete collection of Song Machine: Season One is out now, details here.
Watch Episode 1 – Momentary Bliss ft. slowthai and Slaves – here Watch Episode 2 – Désolé ft Fatoumata Diawara – here Watch Episode 3 – Aries ft Peter Hook and Georgia – here Watch Episode 4 – Friday 13th ft Octavian – here Watch Episode 5 – Pac-Man ft Schoolboy Q – here Watch Episode 6 – Strange Timez ft Robert Smith – here Watch Episode 7 – The Pink Phantom ft. Elton John & 6LACK – here
Virtual band Gorillaz is singer 2D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, guitarist Noodle and drummer Russel Hobbs. Created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, their acclaimed eponymous debut album was released in 2001. The BRIT and Grammy Award winning band’s subsequent albums are Demon Days (2005), Plastic Beach (2010), The Fall (2011), Humanz (2017) and The Now Now (2018). A truly global phenomenon, Gorillaz have achieved success in entirely ground-breaking ways, touring the world from San Diego to Syria, winning numerous awards including the coveted Jim Henson Creativity Honor.
* The band are recognised by The Guinness Book Of World Records as the planet’s Most Successful Virtual Act.
Song Machine is out on standard CD, vinyl and cassette; plus the 17-track Deluxe and Super Deluxe box sets. Not forgetting the bulging full-colour, one-of-a-kind 210-page Almanac, the very first annual from Gorillaz. Order here.
