“I don’t remember your face… And I definitely would have remembered his face,’” Megan said. “I just remember this tall, blond, ghostly creature and I looked up and I was like, ‘You smell like weed.’ He looked down at me and he was like, ‘I am weed.’ Then, I swear to God, he disappeared like a ninja in a smoke bomb.”
Megan shared more of her thoughts about that night: “I think we weren’t allowed to see each other yet,” she continued. “We weren’t supposed to run into each other that night, so our souls, our spirit guides, were luring us away from each other, because you literally had no face, like that thing from Spirited Away. It is hard to see his face in general, but really he had no face that night.” To MGK: “Thank God, [because] what torture had I known you were there and I couldn’t get to you. It was better that I didn’t know.”
If that doesn’t make you want to read the whole feature, I don’t know what will! Check out the full cover story here.
Two years removed from his fourth album Assure Form, which earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Album, James Blake is back in action with his fifth full-length release, Friends That Break Your Heart. The 12-track album is highlighted by a soothing appearance from SZA on “Coming Back.” The song showcases the aftermath of a lover’s attempt to depart from a past relationship. Regret and humility fill Blake’s voice as he comes to the realization that what he was running away from is actually what he needs. Despite this, SZA plays the woman in question as she uses her verse to reveal the concern she has with a second try at love.
Blake’s new album also features appearances from JID, Swavay, and Monica Martin, in what lands as a more solo effort in comparison to Assure Form. during an interview with British GQ last month, Blake explained the title of his fifth album. “It’s a Ronseal title,” he said, adding, “It feels relevant to the moment — if I may say so myself — because a lot of us had to contend with friendships where we weren’t getting what we needed out of them. Maybe we were moving on or people were moving on without us.”
You can listen to Blake and SZA’s collaboration in the video above.
Friends That Break Your Heart is out now via Republic. Get it here.
Last month, Red Hot Chili Peppers had some fun announcing a tour, doing so with an off-kilter parody news broadcast. They didn’t announce the dates for the shows at the time, but now, in a follow-up video, they have.
The band will travel the world between June and September next year, and they’ll be joined by a particularly impressive roster of openers: The Strokes, St. Vincent, ASAP Rocky, King Princess, Haim, Beck, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, and Thundercat.
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ most recent album is 2016’s The Getaway. They haven’t yet announced a new LP, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them drop one before or around when these tour dates kick off next summer.
Check out the full list of tour dates below.
06/04/2022 — Seville, Spain @ Estadio La Cartuja De Sevilla =
06/07/2022 — Barcelona, Spain @ Estadi Olimpic =
06/10/2022 — Nijmegen, Netherlands @ Goffertpark =
06/15/2022 — Budapest, Hungary – Puskas Stadium =
06/18/2022 — Firenze, Italy @ Firenze Rocks
06/22/2022 — Manchester, UK @ Emirates Old Trafford =
06/25/2022 — London, UK @ London Stadium ~
06/29/2022 — Dublin, Ireland @ Marlay Park ~
07/01/2022 — Glasgow, UK @ Bellahouston Park ~
07/03/2022 — Leuven, Belgium @ Rock Werchter
07/05/2022 — Cologne, Germany @ RheinEnergieStadium =
07/08/2022 — Paris, France @ Stade de France ~
07/12/2022 — Hamburg, Germany @ Volksparkstadion =
07/23/2022 — Denver, CO @ Empower Field at Mile High *
07/27/2022 — San Diego, CA @ Petco Park *
07/29/2022 — Santa Clara, CA @ Levi’s Stadium +
07/31/2022 — Los Angeles, CA @ SoFi Stadium +
08/03/2022 — Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park ^
08/06/2022 — Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium ^^
08/10/2022 — Atlanta, GA @ Truist Park ^
08/12/2022 — Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium ^
08/14/2022 — Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park ^
08/17/2022 — E. Rutherford, NJ @ Metlife Stadium ^
08/19/2022 — Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field ^
08/21/2022 — Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre ^
08/30/2022 — Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium ^
09/01/2022 — Charlotte, NC @ Bank of America Stadium ^
09/03/2022 — Philadelphia, PA @ Citizens Bank Park ^
09/08/2022 — Washington, DC @ Nationals Park ^
09/10/2022 — Boston, MA @ Fenway Park #
09/15/2022 — Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium ^
09/18/2022 — Arlington, TX @ Globe Life Field ^
= with ASAP Rocky and Thundercat
~ with Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals and Thundercat
* with Haim and Thundercat
+ with Beck and Thundercat
^ with The Strokes and Thundercat
^^ with The Strokes and King Princess
# with St. Vincent and Thundercat
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
It’s been about a year and a half since Kevin Parker released Tame Impala‘s highly anticipated album The Slow Rush. Now, the musician is giving fans even more Tame Impala content with The Slow Rush Deluxe box set, which will celebrate the album’s two-year anniversary. It features some unreleased b-sides from the LP, which Parker has now previewed with a hypnotic remix to “Breathe Deeper” featuring none other than Lil Yachty.
The “Breathe Deeper” remix’s instrumentals stay the same, but Parker’s verses are replaced with Yachty unique flow. The rapper’s cadence mirror’s the song’s swirling and psychedelic beat. He delivers lyrics about linking up with a love interest and dancing the night away that are slightly washed out over the bouncy rhythm, giving the impression of a lo-fi remix.
Lil Yachty spoke about his collaboration with Parker in a statement alongside the new remix, saying he’s been a longtime fan: “It was so amazing to work with Kevin as I’ve been a big fan since high school so it was a pleasant surprise and honor to be a part of such an incredible song.”
The physical version of the The Slow Rush Deluxe box set features two transparent red vinyls and alternate album artwork, including a 40-page booklet and The Slow Rush 2050 calendar. Both the physical and the digital version of the deluxe album include the “Breathe Deeper (Lil Yachty Remix),” as well as the pre-album single “Patience” and some extended versions of a few songs.
Listen to “Breathe Deeper (Lil Yachty Remix)” above.
The Slow Rush Deluxe is out 2/18/2022 via Modular. Pre-order it here.
Keeping track of all the new albums coming out in a given month is a big job, but we’re up for it: Below is a comprehensive list of the major releases you can look forward to in October. If you’re not trying to potentially miss out on anything, it might be a good idea to keep reading.
Friday, October 1
Audiobooks — Astro Tough (Piccadilly Records)
Ben Marc — Breathe Suite EP (Innovative Leisure)
Black Dice — Mod Prog Sic (FourFour Records)
Bonnie Cosby — Virginiana EP (Pax Aeternum)
Boy Scouts — Wayfinder (ANTI-)
Brandi Carlile — In These Silent Days (Elektra Records)
The Colorist Orchestra & Howe Gelb — Not On The Map (Dangerbird)
Couplet — LP1 (Storm Chasers LTD)
Dar Williams — I’ll Meet You Here (Renew Records/BMG)
Diet Cig — I Don’t Like Driving Like I Used To EP (Frenchkiss Records)
The Doobie Brothers — Liberté (Island Records)
Ducks Ltd. — Modern Fiction (Carpark Records)
Explosions In The Sky — Big Bend (An Original Soundtrack for Public Television) (Temporary Residence)
Four Stroke Baron — Classics (Prosthetic Records)
Gustaf — Audio Drag For Ego Slobs (Royal Mountain Records)
Hovvdy — True Love (Grand Jury)
Illuminati Hotties — Let Me Do One More (Hopeless Records)
Jeremy Zucker — Crusher (Republic)
Jojo — Trying Not To Think About It (Warner Records)
Joshua Speers — Midnight Horses EP (Warner Records)
JW Francis — Wanderkid (Sunday Best Recordings)
Kalabrese — Let Love Rumpel (Part 1) (Rumpelmusig)
Kit Grill — Fragile (Primary Colours)
Leisure — Side B EP (Nettwerk)
Lily Rose — Stronger Than I Am (Big Loud Records/Back Blocks)
Logan Mize — Welcome To Prairieville (Big Yellow Dog Music)
Lonr. — Land Of Nothing Real 2 EP (Epic Records)
Matt Robidoux — At Dust (Already Dead Tapes and Records)
Meek Mill — Expensive Pain (Warner)
Ministry — Moral Hygiene (Nuclear Blast)
Misty River — Promises (The Workshop Tapes)
Mod Con — Modern Condition (Poison City)
Nine Pound Hammer — When The Shit Goes Down (Acetate Records)
Olan Monk — Auto Life EP (CANVAS)
The Persian Leaps — Drone Etiquette (Land Ski Records)
Pond — 9 (Spinning Top Records)
The Script — Tales From The Script (Sony)
Secondhand Sound — The Best & Worst Of Times (Sound Division Records)
Shad — TAO (Secret City Records)
Silas Short — Drawing EP (Stones Throw)
Strand Of Oaks — In Heaven (Galacticana Records)
Sun Atoms — Let There Be Light (Little Cloud Records)
The The — The Comeback Special (Ear Music)
Tirzah — Colourgrade (Domino)
Tony Bennett And Lady Gaga — Love For Sale (Columbia)
Ustad Saami — East Pakistan Sky (Glitterbeat Records)
Wage War — Manic (Fearless Records)
Wiki — Half God (Wikset Enterprise)
Work Party — My Best Days Are Behind Me (Triple Eye Industries)
Valley — Last Birthday EP (Capitol Records)
Xander Cameron — Rebel RM Roseme EP (2563977 Records DK)
Yes — The Quest (InsideOut Music)
Zoodrake — Seven (Elektrofish / Echozone)
Friday, October 8
Alice TM — Little Body In Orbit (Whatever’s Clever)
Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.
Whatever you might be into, each month brings a new slew of vinyl releases that has something for everybody. Some stand out above the rest, naturally, so check out some of our favorite vinyl releases of September below.
Metallica — Metallica (Remastered) and The Metallica Blacklist
Blackened Recordings
Over the past 40 years, Metallica earned themselves a legion of fans and proved that their appeal spans genres: Their self-titled 1991 album is perhaps their least thrash metal-influenced effort and is their most commercially successful. To celebrate the album’s anniversary, not only did the group release a remastered edition of it, but they also got dozens upon dozens of artists to cover its songs for the massive Metallica Blacklist project.
Get Metallica (Remastered)here. Get The Metallica Blacklisthere.
Cold Cave — Cherish The Light Years
Matador
Cold Cave’s sophomore effort has been out of print for years now, and finally, new physical editions of it are available once again. The occasion is the record’s tenth anniversary. This edition comes with the previously unreleased track “Believe In My Blood” and is pressed in a variety of bright monochrome-colored vinyl, making for a bold complement to the black-and-white cover art.
Buena Vista Social Club — Buena Vista Social Club (25th Anniversary Edition)
World Circuit Records
Buena Vista Social Club’s self-titled (and only) studio album is a landmark release in Cuban music, and for the 25th anniversary of the 1997 album’s recording, we’ve been treated to an expansive reissue. There’s a lot here for fans to sink into, like previously unheard tracks from the 1996 session tapes, new liner notes, art prints, and more.
Vince Guaraldi — It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Craft Recordings
While Charlie Brown having football-related difficulties and Snoopy sleeping on his doghouse are iconic Peanuts elements, of similarly lauded value is the music in the Peanuts TV specials. Just in time for spooky season, the It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown soundtrack has been pressed on orange, pumpkin-shaped vinyl, which will be an aesthetic highlight in any collector’s vinyl library.
As good as My Morning Jacket’s albums are, the band is especially potent as a live force, which makes their new MMJ Live vinyl series all the more appealing. The series begins with Live 2015, which collects 16 previously unreleased recordings from the band’s 2015 tour in support of The Waterfall, all pressed on crisp-looking white vinyl.
Pixies ended their original run with 1991’s Trompe Le Monde, and now that the album is 30 years old, the group is celebrating the record with a gorgeous limited marbled green vinyl reissue. While the band eventually reunited, Trompe Le Monde represents the end of an era, and this new edition of it is one of the best ways to celebrate its legacy.
The Milk Carton Kids — Prologue (10th Anniversary Box Set)
Milk Carton Kids
The Milk Carton Kids earned a Grammy nomination in 2013 for their album The Ash & Clay, but its predecessor, Prologue, set the stage. Prologue celebrates its tenth anniversary this year and the band is marking the occasion with a fancy new rerelease. The 3-LP box set includes the remastered album as well as early demos and live performances. There’s also a fan-pleasing disc that traces the evolution of “Michigan” and “New York,” two of the group’s most beloved tracks.
Elvis Costello’s 1978 album This Year’s Model has gone down as a classic, and now he has taken an interesting approach to celebrating it. Instead of a traditional rerelease, he got a host of Latin pop and rock artists (like Juanes and Luis Donsi) to sing over the original instrumentals for Spanish Model. All in all, it’s a clever way to appreciate and breathe new life into an iconic 40-year-old album. We even chatted with him about it.
Three 6 Mafia — When The Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1
Vinyl Me, Please
Vinyl Me, Please recently announced their slate of monthly vinyl reissues for the rest of 2021, and the October hip-hop release is a great one: Three 6 Mafia’s When The Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1. This 2-LP orange-and-black edition is the first wide vinyl release of the album and it comes freshly remastered, making this an audiophile-preferred way to enjoy the record.
Various Artists — VMP Anthology: The Story Of Philadelphia International Records
Vinyl Me, Please
Speaking of Vinyl Me, Please, aside from their monthly releases, they also bust out larger projects, the latest being a tribute to the influential soul record label Philadelphia International Records. The Story Of Philadelphia International Records is a fantastic historical document, as it features eight premier album’s from the label’s heyday in the ’70s, by artists like The O’Jays and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. The goodies included here go beyond the physical, as there’s also a four-episode podcast series that serves as a guide to the albums.
I don’t know about you, but I really, really missed music festivals. And after a year and a half without them, music festivals returned big time this summer, and are now in full swing. Some favorites, like Lollapalooza, Rolling Loud, and Pitchfork Music Festival, all already welcomed fans back to their grounds (and you can look at what’s still to come in our handy hub that we built for you). But there is no festival quite like Life Is Beautiful in Las Vegas.
Taking over Downtown Vegas for the weekend, LiB shows visitors a different side of the desert oasis. It’s not held on the more popular strip area, but in what is commonly referred to as Old Vegas, featuring some of the classic area casinos and hotels as a backdrop and abundant street art on the side of nearly every building. In a city that already feels like a playground, Life Is Beautiful ups the anti, imparting fans with stunning views, top-tier cuisine, educational seminars, and, of course, music. This year saw an impressive slate, including Tame Impala, Green Day, Glass Animals, St. Vincent, Young Thug, ASAP Rocky, and many more. Check out some of the highlights, shot by our own Paul L. Carter, below.
Glass Animals // Paul L. CarterGlass Animals // Paul L. CarterAshnikko // Paul L. CarterTame Impala // Paul L. CarterTame Impala // Paul L. CarterASAP Rocky // Paul L. CarterASAP Rocky // Paul L. CarterASAP Rocky // Paul L. CarterGreen Day // Paul L. CarterGreen Day // Paul L. CarterHaim // Paul L. CarterHaim // Paul L. CarterHaim // Paul L. CarterLudacris // Paul L. CarterSt. Vincent // Paul L. CarterYoung Thug // Paul L. CarterYoung Thug // Paul L. Carter
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Kanye West is about a month removed from releasing Donda, but he’s not taking a break after his new album. Over the weekend, he was back in the studio, accompanied by a couple of big-time guests: Post Malone and Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold.
A video of West and Malone in the studio surfaced, in which Malone is thoroughly enjoying Fleet Foxes’ “The Shrine / An Argument” as it plays over speakers. Furthermore, as Stereogum notes, Pecknold also shared a photo of himself and Malone, indicating that they were also together that night.
West and Pecknold have yet to appear on a song together, but Pecknold and Malone (a noted major Fleet Foxes fan) have struck up a friendship in recent years. In a 2020 interview, Pecknold noted that Malone nearly appeared on Fleet Foxes’ album Shore and said of Malone, “He’ll text me every once in a while and it’s always a really fun thing to receive. To have that pop up in my iMessages, it always feels like a glitch in the Matrix or something. […] He’s a super sweet guy, he’s a real gentleman, and he’s probably the best melody writer in the business right now, I think. And by some glitch in the Matrix, we have a casual friendship.”
Janelle Monáe has long used her art to bring attention to issues the world faces, and that’s just what she does on her latest, the 17-minute “Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout).” The song, released to coincide with International Daughter’s Day on September 26, features the names of women who died at the hands of police brutality: Rekia Boyd, Latasha Walton, Atatiana Jefferson, Kendra James, Priscilla Slater, and many others, over 60 in total.
Monáe recruited a healthy roster of artists to help out with the track: Featured on it are Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Chloe X Halle, Tierra Whack, Brittany Howard, Zoë Kravitz, Prof. Kimberlé Crenshaw, Isis V., Asiahn, Mj Rodriguez, Jovian Zayne, Angela Rye, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Brittany Packnett-Cunningham, and Alicia Garza.
Monáe wrote on Instagram of the song, “We will never forget our SISTERS who have lost their lives to police brutality. Join me, @AAPolicyForum + my sisters this Friday, September 24th in this rally cry as we #SayHerName in honor of #InternationalDaughtersDay.”
As the title suggests, the track is a follow-up to her 2015 single “Hell You Talmbout,” a similarly spirited protest anthem.
Proceeds from the new song will go to The African American Policy Forum (AAPF) and their #SayHerName campaign. On their website, AAPF describes the campaign, “The #SayHerName Campaign is so much more than a hashtag. It is a multi-dimensional campaign centered around the experiences and demonstrated needs of the #SayHerName Mothers Network — mothers, sisters, and families who have lost daughters to police violence.”
Listen to “Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout)” above.
Vinyl Me, Please has established themselves as an essential ally to vinyl collectors over the years, as they regularly offer exclusive editions of revered albums, pressed in unique colors and accompanied by delightful extras. There are only three months left in the year, and today, VMP has shared the roadmap for how they’ll be handling their monthly releases for October, November, and December.
October’s albums of the month are Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest (as the month’s Essentials release), Teddy Pendergrass’s Life Is A Song Worth Singing (Classics), Three 6 Mafia’s When The Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1 (Hip-Hop), and Sam Hunt’s Montevallo (Country). Following that in November will be Usher’s Confessions (Essentials), Freddie King’s My Feeling For The Blues (Classics), Clipse’s Hell Hath No Fury (Hip-Hop), and Gram Parsons’s Grievous Angel (Country). Closing the year in December are The Meters’s Rejuvenation (Essentials), Roberta Flack’s Quiet Fire (Classics), RZA’s RZA as Bobby Digital In Stereo (Hip-Hop), and Buck Owens & His Buckaroos’s Carnegie Hall Concert (Country).
All of the releases are bound to be special, and in particular, Usher’s Confessions represents something new for VMP, as Alexandra Berenson, their Head of A&R, notes, “We’re really excited for the opportunity to run a record like this because we haven’t really done a massive R&B crossover hit in our Essentials. It’s a very cohesive album and it has been totally underserved on vinyl. It hasn’t had a reissue since it first came out and we figured, ‘Let’s give this the VMP treatment. Let’s try to make the most definitive version of this record that we can.’”
Learn more about the upcoming Essentials releases here, the upcoming Classics releases here, the upcoming Hip-Hop releases here, and the upcoming Country releases here.
