Category: NEWS

R.I.P. Richard Swift (Shins, Arcs, Black Keys). Not only did you do everything, you did everything better than pretty much everybody else.

Check out the excellent mix tape he made us back in 2009:

Richard Swift Makes MAGNET A Mix Tape

Roll up for the Magical Mystery Tour—step right this way. Paul McCartney is set to take you away on a musical journey that kicks off September 7 at Egypt Station. The Capitol Records-sponsored jaunt includes 14 brand-new stops, including exotic locales such as “I Don’t Know,” “Come On To Me,” “Happy With You,” “People Want Peace” and “Despite Repeated Warnings,” bookended by “Station I” and “Station II.” Greg Kurstin (Adele, Beck, Foo Fighters, et al) oversaw the production of McCartney’s first guided tour in five years, providing everything you need to have your satisfaction guaranteed. Consider this your invitation to make a reservation … If you bought the Dig‘s Moonlight Baby EP last month, you already have half of the band’s new album; Moonlight Baby will be combined with the forthcoming Afternoon With Caroline EP on October 19 as El Dig: A Year Of Music (or maybe just as Moonlight Baby / Afternoon With Caroline; it’s confusing) and released via Roll Call … Lamp Lit Prose is the eighth album from Dirty Projectors, and it will see a July 13 release on Domino … Go folk yourself with the new Villagers LP, The Art Of Pretending To Swim, out September 21, also on Domino … Understanding is Mirah‘s sixth solo album, out September 7 via Absolute Magnitude … The great Gillian Welch is celebrating the 15th anniversary of her Soul Journey with an audiophile-quality-vinyl reissue of the 2003 album, marking the first time the record is available as, uh, a record … Circles Around The Sun is guitarist Neal Casal (Ryan Adams, Beachwood Sparks, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Hard Working Americans), keyboardist Adam MacDougall (CRB, Black Crowes), bassist Dan Horne (Allah-Las, Cass McCombs, Jonathan Wilson) and drummer Mark Levy (Phil Lesh & Friends, Congress); the supergroup will release sophomore double album Let It Wander on August 17 via Rhino … Also seeing double is Salim Nourallah (Old 97’s, Damnwells, Rhett Miller, Deathray Davies), whose 21-track Somewhere South Of Sane is out September 28 on Palo Santo … Who’s the boz, you ask—well, it’s Boz Scaggs, of course, whose 19th solo album (by our count) Out Of The Blues is out July 27 on Concord … King Of The Road: A Tribute To Roger Miller (BMG, August 31) is, well, a tribute to legendary singer/songwriter Roger Miller, most popular for his song “King Of The Road”; the two-CD set features the likes of Ringo Starr, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, John Goodman,  Lyle Lovett, Dwight Yoakam and Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson & Merle Haggard tackling the Miller songbook. (Fun fact: Like Miller, all those listed above have had careers in both music and acting.)

It seems like just yesterday we had the brilliant Dave Eggers interview Death Cab For Cutie for the cover of MAGNET, but, kids, that was so three and half years ago. Back then, Trump had no chance of every becoming president. But luckily, on August 17 and thanks to the fine folks at Atlantic Records, we’ll have a new DCFC album to escape reality with. Thank You For Today is the ninth LP from Ben Gibbard and his band of renown, which now officially includes Dave Depper (Menomena, Fruit Bats, Corin Tucker, Ray Lamontagne) and Zac Rae (My Brightest Diamond, Fiona Apple, Lana Del Rey, Gnarls Barkley). Like Grammy-nominated predecessor Kintsugi, the 10-track Thank You For Today was produced by Rich Costey (Fiona Apple, Franz Ferdinand, Muse). Catch Death Cab live starting in August, cuties … Another former MAGNET cover star, Spiritualized, is back September 7 with And Nothing Hurt (Fat Possum), Jason “Spaceman” Pierce and Co.’s first LP since 2012’s Sweet Heart Sweet Light (a.k.a. The Huh? Album) … Blues Explosion frontman Jon Spencer, whose handsome mug has adorned the cover of MAGNET twice, will release his debut solo album, Spencer Sings The Hits!, this fall via In The Red … We wish Brant Bjork (Kyuss, Fu Manchu) luck with new album Mankind Woman (Heavy Psych Sounds, September 14), his 13th solo LP … It’s only taken Pram 11 years, but the British quartet is back with the July 20 release of Across The Meridian (Domino) … Big Rig just released While We’re At It, the 10th album from the Mighty Mighty BossToneS and their first in seven years … Merge is issuing Someday Everything Will Be Fine, the third LP from Spider Bags, on August 3 … Houndmouth will release third album (and Reprise debut) Golden Age on August 3 … There’s a new James album coming (so, we guess, she’s on top), and it’s called Living In Extraordinary Times and out August 3 through Infectious/BMG … Blitzen Trapper‘s Furr gets the 10th-anniversary reissue treatment on September 14 courtesy of Sub Pop … Soundtrack To The World’s End (Dead Frog), the Mommyheads‘ first album in six years, is due September 7 … Original Public Image Ltd bassist Jah Wobble is self-releasing Dream World on August 3 … On October 26, Decca/Sugar will issue Sì, Andrea Bocelli‘s first album of all-new material in 14 years.

When the Green Pajamas first started playing together, a gallon of gas cost 91 cents, a pack of cigarettes cost 82 cents, Ronald Reagan was in the middle of fighting the Second Cold War, the USA Today began publishing and Michael Jackson’s Thriller was the number-one album in the world. 36 years later, the Jeff Kelly-led cult band with more than 30 well-worth-seeking-out albums under its belt is playing its last show ever. This Friday, at Slim’s Last Chance in the band’s native Seattle, the Pajamas will take the stage for the final time with the promise of giving their devoted fans something special to remember them by.

Kelly and Co. say they’re leaving the door open for the possibility of new music being released under the Green Pajamas moniker, and he and his bandmates will continue on with their solo and group projects. Yet June 29, 2018, will remain a sad day for the small-but-loyal number of us who were lucky enough to have had the Pajamas and their music in our lives for so long.

Even though it’s time for bed, you can bet we’re gonna stay up extra late, ordering cognacs from Kim The Waitress, eating peppermint sticks, wearing our favorite Green Pajamas one last time and knowing this is where they disappear.

Read our 2009 Pajamas tour diary, the band’s 2012 guest-editing stint, Jeff and Suzanne Kelly’s 2014 guest-editing stint, our Q&A with Jeff …

Q&A With The Green Pajamas

… our feature on Susanne’s Fur For Fairies …

Fur For Fairies: Devil Down

… and, finally, our feature on both Jeff and Susanne:

Susanne And Jeff Kelly: Reckless Abandon

55 years ago John Coltrane and his classic quartet—bassist Jimmy Garrison, drummer Elvin Jones and pianist McCoy Tyner—recorded a full-on studio album, and when finished, Trane brought the reference tape home and never did anything with it. After the family of Contrane’s first wife, Naima, brought its existence to the attention of Impulse!, the label is releasing it June 29 as Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, available as a standard seven-track CD or LP as well as a deluxe 14-track double CD or LP. Kids, as far as jazz history goes, this is a huge deal … On July 27, UMC/Island/Interscope will reissue three U2 albums on double vinyl: 1991’s landmark Achtung Baby, 1993’s Zooropa and 1998’s The Best Of 1980-1990 … Phish‘s The Baker’s Dozen: Live At Madison Square Garden documents the 13 shows and 26 unique sets the band performed a year ago at the NYC venue over 17 nights; it’s available in three formats: a three-CD or six-LP set (with 13 tracks hand-picked by the band) as well as the 36-CD The Complete Baker’s Dozen Box Set, which compiles all of the performances … The three-CD C89 (Cherry Red, July 27) follows C86, C87 and C88 in documenting in the incredibly vibrant ’80s indie scene across the pond, featuring tons of great bands you’ve never heard of as well as faves such as the Stone Roses, the La’s, the Telescopes, Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, Pooh Sticks and more … On June 29, Verve/UMe gives a slightly early 100th birthday gift to the legendary Leonard Bernstein via the two-CD Jazz Loves Bernstein featuring jazz greats—including Billie Holiday, Bill Evans, Sarah Vaughan, Mel Tormé, Oscar Peterson and Diana Krall—interpreting some of his classics … Rhino’s got the cure for your post-Labor Day blues September 7 with the Grateful Dead‘s Pacific Northwest ’73-’74: The Complete Recordings, a limited-edition 19-CD boxed set featuring six previously unreleased shows from Portland, Seattle and Vancouver; also available the same day is Pacific Northwest ’73-’74: Believe It If You Need It, a three-CD best-of from those shows … Eric B & Rakim‘s long out-of-print catalog will be out of print no longer July 13 thanks to UMe, which is releasing The Complete Collection 1987-1992, a 10-disc (eight LPs and two CDs) boxed set featuring the duo’s four albums—1987’s Paid In Full, 1988’s Follow The Leader, 1990’s Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em and 1992’s Don’t Sweat The Technique—plus two CDs of rare, vintage remixes … The next time you’re at a hipster party and someone mentions Japanese cult musician Haruomi Hosono (Yellow Magic Orchestra, Happy End), you don’t have to pretend to know who he is; Light In The Attic is reissuing five of his Japanese-only solo albums: 1978’s Paraiso, 1982’s Philharmony and 1989’s Omni Sight Seeing (August 10) and 1973’s Hosono House and 1978’s Cochin Moon (September 28) … Some trivia to impress your not-very-bright friends: Pink Floyd co-founder Nick Mason is the only constant member of the legendary band; Unattended Luggage (Warner Music, August 31) collects his three solo albums—1981’s Fictitious Sports, 1985’s Profiles and 1987’s White Of The Eye—as three-CD and three-LP sets … A remastered/expanded edition of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone‘s Etiquette (from 2006) is out July 13 via Orindal … Country Singer’s Prayer, Buck Owens’ final, unreleased Capitol album from 1975, will finally see the light of day August 17 on Omnivore … Afro-Cuban All Stars‘ A Toda Cuba Le Gusta will be reissued on heavyweight vinyl on September 7 by World Circuit … On July 27, Alpha Dog 2T/UMe will reissue Styx‘s The Mission as a two-disc package including the original LP as well as a Blu-ray with the album mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound that has accompanying visuals for each track, a documentary and music videos; prior to that, on June 29, Eagle Rock will issue CD and Blue-ray versions of Tommy Shaw‘s Sing For The Day!, a performance by the singer/guitarist with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra featuring both Styx and solo material … You might know Latin superstar J Balvin from his collaborations with the likes of Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Pharrell and Major Lazer, but you can get to know him ever better with Bruuttal, a 26-track concert-film DVD out July 20 on Eagle Vision … On July 20, Craft Recordings will release five hip-hop albums on vinyl that were originally issued by the Delicious Vinyl between 1989 and 1995: Tone-Lōc‘s Lōc-ed After Dark, Young MC‘s Stone Cold Rhymin’, Masta Ace Incorporated‘s SlaughtaHouse and Sittin’ On Chrome and the Pharcyde‘s Labcabincalifornia.

Happy Father’s Day from MAGNET and Frank Turner.

This just in from the What The Fuck? Department. Steve Albini, who’s recorded and engineered (he shuns the term “producer”) everyone ranging from Nirvana, Pixies, PJ Harvey, Cheap Trick and the Stooges to the Breeders, Guided By Voices, Superchunk, Low and Will Oldham, just won the 2018 World Series Of Poker $1,500 seven card stud event. We’ve long known the 55-year-old Albini was a stud in the minds of studio nerds worldwide, but we had no idea was equally well-endowed around the card table.

Albini (sporting a Cocaine Piss T-shirt) won $105,629, which at the standard rate he charges to record bands, would get you 117 days in the studio with him. That would never happen, of course, as he famously told Nirvana, “If a record takes more than a week to make, somebody’s fucking up.” And, plus, would you really want to spend 117 days with Steve Albini?

So, dude, incredible. Just one more thing you’re better at than the rest of us.

Read more on “always right” Albini in our current Breeders cover story by Elijah Wood:

Exclusive Cover Story Excerpt: The Breeders Interviewed By Actor Elijah Wood

Break our your best suit and stock up on some top-quality hair product: Interpol is back after four years with sixth album Marauder, out August 24 via Matador. Produced by the one and only Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Spoon, Mogwai, MGMT, et al), the 13-track LP marks the first time the trio—then still a quartet—has worked with an outside producer since 2007’s Our Love To Admire. Kids, the powers that be think Marauder is gonna be big—so big that the Fab Three—Paul, Sam and Daniel—held a press conference in Mexico to announce it. Viva la Interpol … Speaking of new records by great producers, Dance On The Blacktop, the third album from Nothing, was produced by the mighty John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Kurt Vile, et al) and is out August 24 on Relapse … As reported first by MAGNET on socials (we were at the Philly show that he announced this the day before), M. Ward self-released What A Wonderful Industry on Friday to surprised fans around the world … Prince‘s Piano & A Microphone 1983 is, well, an unreleased Prince album from 1983 featuring him alone with a piano and a microphone; the nine track, 35-minute LP is out September 21 on Prince Estate/Warner Bros. … Body/Head—Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth, etc.) and guitarist Bill Nace (Vampire Belt, etc.)—is releasing sophomore album The Switch on July 13 via Matador … Father/son duo Neil Finn And Liam Finn make their album debut August 24 with Lightsleeper (Inertia/PIAS) … Sound the Alarm: Mike Peters and Co. have a new album, Equals, out June 29 via Twenty First Century … Back To The City is the fifth LP from Gringo Star, out Aug 24 on Nevado Music … The same day, Mercury KX is issuing Ólafur Arnalds’ re:member … Dragon Inn 3 is Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin frontman Philip Dickey, whose Double Line debut is out August 17 on American Laundromat … Chains Are Broken is the Devil Makes Three‘s follow-up to 2013’s I’m A Stranger Here and is out August 24 via New West … The Blanks‘ Yellow Fading Glimmer (out July 6) is the band’s first album since 2005 debut Love You Too … Atlantic is releasing Spirit Animal‘s debut LP, Born Yesterday, on August 3 … Out June 15 on RCA is Christina Aguilera‘s sixth album, Liberation … Rick Astley‘s Beautiful Life is out July 20 on BMG … Spirit Of 75: Two men who have been alive for three-quarters of a century have new albums; Tony Joe White’s Bad Mouthin’ is out September 28 via Yep Roc, while Swamp Dogg‘s Love, Loss, And Auto-Tune hits stores two weeks prior on Joyful Noise and features vocals from Justin Vernon (Bon Iver).

On October 5, Echo & The Bunnymen will release The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon (BMG), their first new studio album since 2014’s Meteorites. But there’s a catch: Only two of the 15 tracks (“The Somnanbulist” and “How Far?”) are “new”; the other baker’s dozen are reworkings of older songs from Ian McCulloch and Co.’s 40-year career.

So why are the Bunnymen revisting the old songs to learn and sing and taking them in a new direction? “I’m not doing this for anyone else,” says McCulloch. “I’m doing it, as it’s important to me to make the songs better. I have to do it.”

And as everyone know, Mac The Mouth, post-punk’s Chairman Of The Bored, has always done it his way.

The Bunnymen kick off a co-headlining tour with Violent Femmes on July 12. While you wait, read the Over/Under we did on them.

The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon track listing, live dates and official audio for “Seven Seas” below.

The Over/Under: Echo & The Bunnymen

The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon
1. “Bring on the Dancing Horses”
2. “The Somnambulist”
3. “Nothing Lasts Forever”
4. “Lips Like Sugar”
5. “Rescue”
6. “Rust”
7. “Angels & Devils”
8. “Bedbugs & Ballyhoo”
9. “Zimbo”
10. “Stars Are Stars”
11. “Seven Seas”
12. “Ocean Rain”
13. “The Cutter”
14. “How Far?”
15. “The Killing Moon”

Tour Dates
7/12 – San Antonio, TX, Tobin Center
7/13 – Austin, ACL Live Moody
7/14 – Houston, Revention Music Center
7/15 – Irving, TX, The Pavilion
7/17 – Nashville, Ryman Auditorium
7/18 – Atlanta, State Bank Amphitheater
7/20 – Lake Buena Vista, FL, House Of Blues
7/21 – St. Augustine, FL, St. Augustine Amphitheatre
7/23 – Richmond, VA, The National
7/24 – Norfolk, VA, Norva
7/25 – Washington, D.C., The Anthem
8/11 – Waynesville, Ohio, Bellwether Music Festival

“Seven Seas”