Category: NEWS

R.I.P. all of the Americans who died serving the country we love. We may not have supported the wars you fought in, but we always supported—and will continue to support—you. Thank you for your service.

Bob Dylan released this song 55 years ago yesterday. Unfortunately, things haven’t changed much.

“Masters Of War”
Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin’
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it’s your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people’s blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You’ve thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain’t worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I’m young
You might say I’m unlearned
But there’s one thing I know
Though I’m younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death’ll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I’ll watch while you’re lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I’ll stand o’er your grave
’Til I’m sure that you’re dead

Happy World Goth Day! Bela Lugosi’s alive! Read our review of last year’s excellent goth comp from our friends at Cherry Red:

Essential New Music: Various Artists’ “Silhouettes And Statues: A Gothic Revolution: 1978-1986”

Following the release of 2016’s Day Breaks, former MAGNET cover star Norah Jones played a trio show with drummer Brian Blade and bassist Christopher Thomas at legendary London jazz club Ronnie Scott’s. The 16-track Live At Ronnie Scott’s captures this intimate performance on Blu-ray and DVD (Eagle Rock, June 15), including a pre-show interview. Nine of the dozen Day Breaks tracks are featured, plus “bonus” track “Burn” (the album’s opener). Catch Jones live in California this September … David Bowie‘s Welcome To The Blackout (Live London ’78) is a sort of companion piece to 1978’s Stage (Bowie’s second live album), documenting his Isolar II tour in support of the previous year’s Low and “Heroes” and out June 29 as a two-CD set; the same day, Parlophone is also releasing the limited-edition, vinyl-only Christiane F.: Wir Kinder Von Bahnoff Zoo (the soundtrack to the 1981 film) and In Bertolt Brecht’s Baal (five songs written for Bertolt Brecht’s 1918 play Baal) … Ty Segall and White Fence will bring Joy to the world on July 20 via Drag City … On August 31, the Kooks are releasing fifth album Let’s Go Sunshine on Lonely Cat/AWAL … Shooter Jennings will pull the trigger on new LP Shooter August 10, aided and abetted by Low Country Sound/Elektra … Alive Naturalsound is releasing Beechwood‘s Inside The Flesh Hotel on June 8 … Tunng got the original band back together for the first time in 11 years for Songs You Make At Night, out via Full Time Hobby on August 24 … Finklestein, the new solo album from Hamish Kilgour (Clean, Mad Scene), is out July 6 on Ba Da Bing! … Amos Lee returns August 31 with My New Moon courtesy of Dualtone … It’s May, and the March Divide announces the August 24 release of fourth LP Anticipation Pops (Slow Start) … Lucero hits the big 2-0 this year, and to celebrate, the band is giving us a present: ninth album Among The Ghosts (Liberty And Lament/Thirty Tigers) … Another outfit reaching the two-decade mark is Collections Of Colonies Of Bees (a band with close connections to Bon Iver, Sylvan Esso and Pele), who’ll release Hawaii on July 13 via Polyvinyl … Tim Rutili (Califone, Red Red Meat) and Craig Ross (Spoon, Daniel Johnston) have joined forces for 10 Seconds To Collapse, out June 22 on Jealous Butcher … New York City singer/songwriter Vincent Poag is releasing third LP Heroes And Demons via Danal Music on June 29 … Bass master Marcus Miller will be feeling Laid Black (Blue Note) on June 1, assisted by the likes of Trombone Shorty, Kirk Whalum, Take Six, Jonathan Butler and Selah Sue … Everyday Life, Everyday People is the ninth album from Slightly Stoopid—featuring Sly Dunbar (Sly And Robbie), Ali Campbell (UB40), G. Love, Yellowman, Chali 2na (Jurassic 5) and more—and it will be self-released on July 13 … In the something-old/something-new department, Jim Lauderdale is releasing Time Flies (his latest studio album) and Jim Lauderdale & Roland White (a previously unissued 1979 collaboration with Roland White) on August 3 via Yep Roc … Mike Patton’s score to Netflix’s 1922 is out July 20 on Ipecac … Take a chance on the Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again soundtrack (Capitol, July 13) … The first two Twin/Tone releases from Soul Asylum, the Bob Mould-produced Say What
 You Will … Everything Can Happen (1984) and Made To Be Broken (1986), have been remastered and expanded by Omnivore and are out July 20 … The latest entry in the Rolling Stones From The Vault series is No Security: San Jose 1999, out via Eagle Rock on July 13 on DVD, Blu-ray, triple-LP and as a DVD/two-CD set … Indigo Girls joined forces with the University Of Colorado Symphony Orchestra for a live album called, believe it or not, Indigo Girls Live With The University Of Colorado Symphony Orchestra (Rounder, June 29) … World Be Live is a 24-track, two-CD live album recorded by Erasure in February on the World Be Gone tour, and it’s out July 6 on Mute … Finally: In 1970, Chicago released second album Chicago, though it was later referred to as Chicago II and reissued last year with a different mix; to celebrate, Chicago (the band) returned to Chicago (the city) to record a live version of Chicago (the album), which is being released as Chicago II: Live On Soundstage by Rhino on June 29 as a CD and a CD/DVD set—followed in August by Chicago II: Collector’s Edition, which contains Chicago II: Live On Soundstage (on CD and DVD) and well as the remixed version of Chicago, now officially called Chicago II (on CD and double-LP), though the cover simply reads Chicago: Collector’s Edition. So, does anybody really know what the title is? Does anybody really care?

Phil Sheridan (above with wife Jenny), longtime member of the MAGNET family and writer of The Back Page each issue, had a horrible fire that caused massive damage to his family’s house. They also lost their dog. If you can donate anything at all, it would be very helpful. If you can’t, please send good thoughts their way.

From his daughter Emily from their GoFundMe page:
My dad and family came home to a fire Wednesday evening resulting in a lot of loss and damage to the home. Fortunately, no one was injured, except for the sweet pup Cocoa who didn’t make it. Everyone who knows him knows Phil as the friendly, funny, genuine and extremely humble guy that he is – some of you might know him as a reputable writer… I know him as the best dad there is – knows it is not ideal to be asking for help in a situation like this – so I am! As some of you know, life has thrown him a couple health scares over the last few years that have meant him being forced to take time away from work for more than a year for treatment and healing. Despite bravely overcoming those things, he and his family are now faced with an unexpected scenario. Any donation and/or share that you can offer to get the house restored would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!

Former MAGNET cover star and Kinks mastermind Ray Davies* will release Our Country: Americana Act II, a companion to last year’s Americana that once again features the Jayhawks as his backing band, on June 29 via Legacy … High As Hope is the latest from Grammy-nominated Florence + The Machine, out June 29 on Republic … Dawes returns June 22 with sixth album Passwords (HUB) … All That Reckoning is the first LP in six years from Cowboy Junkies, out July 13 on Latent/Redeye … Blues legend and seven-time Grammy winner Buddy Guy has a new album called The Blues Is Alive And Well (Silvertone/RCA, June 15), featuring Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck and others … The Tree is the ninth LP from two-time Grammy winner Lori McKenna; it’s out July 20 via CN/Thirty Tigers … Four-time Grammy-winning bassist Stanley Clarke will release The Message (featuring guest appearance from the likes of Doug E. Fresh and Mark Isham) on June 29 via Mack Avenue … The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra pairs, well, original vocal performances by the Beach Boys (also Grammy winners) with newly arranged and recorded music by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; out June 8 via Capitol/UMe, the 17-track album is available on CD and double-LP (the vinyl is due out August 17) … On June 22, Concord will issue Summer Horns II From A To Z by Dave Koz And Friends; the Grammy-nominated saxophonist will support the LP with a lengthy tour … Actor Guy Pearce continues with his musical pursuits July 6 with the Joe Henry-produced The Nomad, out digitally worldwide and on CD and vinyl in his native Australia … After two decades of forays into dub, world music and audio-visual projects, Thompson Twins frontman Tom Bailey returns to pop in July with Science Fiction … On June 8, BMG will issue Midge Ure‘s Orchestrated, which features—you guessed it— orchestrated versions of songs from both his solo catalog as well as from his days with Ultravox … The original lineup of Grammy winners A Flock Of Seagulls has reunited for its first album in 34 years; Ascension is out June 29 … ’80s college rockers Guadalcanal Diary reunited in the late ’90s for a series of shows and recorded/self-released the 16-song At Your Birthday Party (from two ’98 Atlanta dates); on July 13, Omnivore will give it a worldwide release with updated artwork and new liner notes … On June 29, Numero Group will issue Ectotrophia, a collection of recordings by Happy Rhodes made 1984-87, available on CD and double-LP … According to Michael Stipe, he’s got a hat the size of Oklahoma, and on May 25, he can fill it with an upgraded deluxe edition of the original cast album of Oklahoma!; Verve/UMe is issuing a 19-track, 75th-anniversary CD collection celebrating the iconic Broadway musical (the vinyl version has 14 songs, omitting the “Overture” and the four bonus tracks found on the CD).

*It’s a crime Ray Davies has never even been nominated for a Grammy

We are very sad to hear about the passing of Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchinson. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family, friends and fellow fans. He will be missed.

Read Scott in MAGNET on his “perfect day,” an attempt at a poem and an analysis of “Lick It Up” by Kiss:

From The Desk Of Frightened Rabbit: The Perfect Day

From The Desk Of Frightened Rabbit: An Attempt At A Poem …

From The Desk Of Frightened Rabbit: An Analysis Of “Lick It Up” By Kiss

Our 2016 feature:

Frightened Rabbit: Keep Calm And Carry On

Our piece last month on the 10th anniversary of Frightened Rabbit’s breakthrough sophomore album, the classic The Midnight Organ Fight:

Frightened Rabbit Released “The Midnight Organ Fight” A Decade Ago Today

Our 2009 Q&A:

Q&A With Frightened Rabbit

“Welcome to the jungle/We’ve got fun and games … If you got the money/Honey, we got your disease”: Appetite For Destruction, Guns N’ Roses‘ behemoth of a debut album, is getting the well-deserved deluxe-reissue treatment on June 29 via Geffen/UMe, 31 years after its release. Locked N’ Loaded Edition comes as a five-CD/seven-LP/seven-seven-inch boxed set with exclusive collectibles including lithos, rings, lapel pins, posters, flyers, ticket stubs, tattoo sheets, patches, guitar picks, a stage banner, a bandana, a coin, a turntable mat, a cleaning cloth, a USB stick and a plaster mold of Axl Rose’s penis (kidding about that last one, unfortunately, though the limited-edition Locked N’ Loaded will set you back more than a grand, so you might have to sell your own penis to afford it). Appetite will also be available in the following configurations: four-CD/one-Blu-ray, two-CD, two-LP and one-CD. Needless to say, there are countless unreleased, rare, live, etc., tracks, but we would crash the internet if we tried to list them all here. Destruction is coming; hope you’ve got the money, honey … In 1990, the Cure released Mixed Up, an 11-track CD (12 on LP and cassette) containing remixes of some of the band’s popular songs from the ’80s and new track “Never Enough”; on June 15, Rhino is issuing a three-CD edition of Mixed Up, with all 12 tracks from the original LP and cassette versions plus 10 other remixes from the era (all 22 have been remastered by Robert Smith); the set also features the 16-track Torn Down—new Smith remixes of one song each from all 13 Cure studio LPs plus one each from 1983 singles LP Japanese Whispers, Mixed Up and 2001’s Greatest Hits—which, like the new Mixed Up, is also available as a two-LP set the same day … Two years after the legendary Bauhaus broke up in 1983 and the short-lived Dali’s Car, vocalist Peter Murphy started a solo career; Peter Murphy: 5 Albums (Beggars Arkive, June 22) compiles, well, Murphy’s first five albums— 1986’s Should The World Fail To Fall Apart, 1988’s Love Hysteria, 1989’s Deep, 1992’s Holy Smoke and 1995’s Cascade—each with bonus tracks … Half a century ago, Buffalo Springfield played its last show, and to commemorate the occasion, Rhino is reissuing all three of the band’s albums—1966’s Buffalo Springfield, 1967’s Buffalo Springfield Again and 1968’s Last Time Around—as What’s That Sound? The Complete Albums Collection, a five-CD and limited-edition five-LP boxed set … Speaking of CSNY members: Graham Nash is getting the career-overview treatment (minus his time in the Hollies) with Over The Years…, available as two-CD (30 songs, June 29) and two-LP (15 songs, August 31) sets on Rhino … Vince Guaraldi is best known for writing what’s often called “The Charlie Brown Theme Song” or “The Peanuts Theme Song” (it’s actually titled “Linus And Lucy”), but more importantly, has was a jazz-piano force to be reckoned with; on July 6, Omnivore will issue The Complete Warner Bros.–Seven Arts Recordings (compiling 1968’s Oh, Good Grief!, 1969’s The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi and 1970’s Alma-Ville) as a two-CD set and a 50th-anniversary edition of Oh, Good Grief! on translucent red vinyl … Out June 29 via Rhino, Yes: The Steven Wilson Remixes, is a vinyl-only, five-album boxed set compiling, yes, Steven Wilson remixes of Yes LPs The Yes Album (1971), Fragile (1971), Close To The Edge (1972), Tales From Topographic Oceans (1973) and Relayer (1974) … Real Gone is back June 8 with two more entries into its Johnny Mathis reissue campaign featuring his ’70s albums for Columbia; 1970’s Close To You and 1971’s Love Story have been compiled on one disc, while You’ve Got A Friend remains a stand-alone.

38 years ago today, Joy Division played its last gig with Ian Curtis, at Birmingham University’s High Hall. Two weeks later, Curtis killed himself. The eternal. Read our review of the 2015 reissues of Unknown Pleasures, Closer, Still and Substance:

Essential New Music: Joy Division’s “Unknown Pleasures,” “Closer,” “Still” And “Substance”

Kids, do you like the Flaming Lips? Well, June 1 is your lucky day, as Warner Bros. will release Greatest Hits Vol. 1 on vinyl and CD. The LP compiles 11 singles and album tracks from Wayne Coyne and Co.’s Warners era, while the three-CD boxed set sports 52 tracks, some of which are previously unreleased, outtakes or non-U.S. b-sides. It all just goes to show you that enthusiasm for life defeats existential fear … The follow-up to 2009’s Break Up, the five-track Apart EP reunites Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson; it’s out June 1 on Capitol … The Rock*A*Teens return after 18 years on June 29 with Sixth House (Merge) … The new, self-titled Mark Kozelek album is out May 11 via Caldo Verde and features Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley on one track … I See Hawks In L.A. is back June 29 with Live And Never Learn, the band’s first LP since 2013’s Mystery Drug … Featuring appearances by the likes of Jah Wobble, Youth, Roger Eno and Hollie Cook, No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds is the latest from the Orb, out June 22 on Cooking Vinyl … Come Tomorrow is Dave Matthews Band‘s ninth album and first since 2012’s Away From The World, out June 8 on RCA … Omnivore will issue John Wesley Harding‘s Greatest Other People’s Hits on May 18, featuring covers of songs by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, the Velvet Underground, Madonna, Serge Gainsbourg, George Harrison, Roky Erickson (Wes’ take on “If You Have Ghosts” is one for the ages) and Pete Seeger, as well as appearances by Springsteen, Lou Reed, the Minus Five, Kelly Hogan, Rick Moody and more … Former MAGNET cover stars the Killers are getting the career-vinyl-box treatment with the aptly titled The Killers Career Vinyl Box, compiling all seven of their albums—2004’s Hot Fuss, 2006’s Sam’s Town, 2007’s Sawdust, 2008’s Day & Age, 2009’s Live From The Royal Albert Hall, 2012’s Battle Born and last year’s Wonderful Wonderful—and out June 15 via Island/UMe … Hoodoo Gurus fans, this is your year: All of the Australian band’s LPs—1984’s Stoneage Romeos, 1985’s Mars Needs Guitars, 1987’s Blow Your Cool, 1989’s Magnum Cum Louder, 1991’s Kinky, 1992’s Electric Soup/Gorilla Biscuit, 1994’s Crank, 1996’s Blue Cave, 2004’s Mach Schau, 2010’s Purity Of Essence and 2012’s Gold Watch—are being on issued CD (this summer) and vinyl (starting in September) by Big Time Phonograph Recording Co. … Grateful Dead‘s long strange reissue trip continues July 13 with second studio album Anthem Of The Sun: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Rhino), available as a two-CD set (remastered versions of the 1968 and 1971 mixes of the original album and a bonus disc of unreleased live recordings) and limited-to-10,000-copies picture disc (remastered version of the 1971 mix) … Guru’s groundbreaking Jazzmatazz, Volume 1 gets the 25th-anniversary treatment May 18 via UMe/Urban Legends with a three-LP set containing the original album, an instrumental LP and a third record of remixes and b-sides … Returns To Valley Of Rain, the 1985 debut from Giant Sand, will be reissued August 10 on Fire … In 1994, Bruce Dickinson and his band Skunkworks performed in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War, and Scream For Me Sarajevo documents the concert and its behind-the-scenes story; on June 29, Scream For Me Sarajevo will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray by Eagle Vision and it soundtrack will be issued on CD and double vinyl via BMG … Mean Girls Original Broadway Cast Recording is out June 15 on Atlantic.

There are some real perks working at a music magazine like MAGNET: long hours, never-ending deadlines, low pay … wait, did we mention long hours, never-ending deadlines and low pay? But, in all honesty, the constant stream of new promo music that comes our way makes it a hell of a lot easier to get through all that stuff. Sometimes, the promos extend beyond music, to such wonders as band T-shirts and stickers or hookers and blow (kidding about those last two; it’s not the ’70s and ’80s anymore, kids). We were, however, lucky enough to recently receive a pair of Shinola Canfield On-Ear headphones, and let’s just say we’re quite impressed.

You might know the Detroit-based Shinola as the maker of high-end, well-crafted luxury items such as watches, leather bags and wallets, bicycles, jewelry, etc.—the kind of stuff you would buy for someone (or yourself) if you had a lot of disposable income and it’s a special occasion. Given we’re not in a financial position to spend almost a grand on a watch or nearly $3,000 on a bike, all we can say about those products is that they look really freaking cool and well-made, and we wish we would’ve gone to med school like our parents told us to so we could afford them. But since the fine folks at Shinola sent these Canfield On-Ear headphones our way, we’re able to take a walk on the well-to-do wild side that’s usually out of our monetary reach, and we thoroughly enjoy it every single time.

These headphones come in three colors (black & silver, cognac & silver and gloss black) and are made of stainless-steel components and (vegan alert!) have a leather headband and interchangeable lambskin ear pads. As far as looks go, these things are far classier than anything else around the office and certainly help our small fleet of MacBook Pros make a seamless transition from business casual to fun-time formal.

But since we’re not shallow people who only care about looks, what we’re really trying to find in a pair of headphones is how good they sound. Well, these babies sound great. Granted, we’re used to ones that cost around $25, not $350 (as these do), but either way, listening to music through these Canfield On-Ears is just an amazing auditory experience. Most people will tell you that all headphones pretty much sound the same, and they’re generally correct, because those are the people (like us) who’ve only ever owned headphones that cost about the same amout as a case of beer in Philly. (It’s similar to people who live in apartments in the city who claim a good view isn’t important; they say that only because they’ve never lived in an apartment with a good view or are blind.) The difference between listening to music through these Shinolas compared to the other headphones in the office is like the difference between watching a movie in the theater and watching it on your smartphone .

Since we’re far from audiophiles and most of the music MAGNET covers isn’t geared toward mandatory listening on high-end equipment, we can pretty much guarantee we won’t be using words like “presence” or “saturation” or “impedance” or “frequency,” mostly because we don’t understand what the hell they mean. Instead, we’ll say the bass on these Canfields kicks serious ass, we’re hearing stuff we never did before in songs we’ve listened to hundreds of times, the inline mic is easy to use and works really well, they’re comfortable and simple enough to use while walking around and are incredibly easy to hook up to any of your iProducts.

So the bottom line is this: If your Uncle Sam is giving you many happy returns of the day this tax season and you’re a hardcore music fan (and you probably are if you’re reading this) who gets your constant daily fix via headphones, you could do far, far worse than spending that cash on these Canfield On-Ears.  Besides, you weren’t really going to use that gym membership you planted on buying anyway.