Q101 The Alternative
Q101 (formerly on Chicago radio @ 101.1 FM) The Alternative - Chicago's New Rock Alternative - Everything Alternative - Chicago's Alternative - Gen X - Generation X
Hot Cakes starts off with a dick joke, and not a very funny one at that. After detailing his past decade’s hardships with cocaine and fame, newly returned frontman of The DarknessJustin Hawkins wails about how every man he met during his formative years wanted to suck his cock.
These opening lines to “Every Inch of You” are indicative of the content on the rest of the album (their first since 2005′s underrated One Way Ticket to Hell… and Back). Over 11 songs, the words begin to scrape the surface of something serious and human before reverting to the band’s usual glam rock tropes. That a group known for dork-fingered shredding, leopard print, and general buffoonery even thought to discuss their personal turmoil in the first place is a small step toward musical growth, but sadly, The Darkness squanders these seeds of opportunity. The party is always waiting, the humor is always cheeky (you’ll be hard-pressed to find mention of “sabre-toothed cave ladies” on another album this century), and, despite Hawkins’ troubles, the drugs are always a laughing matter.
Even though no one expects The Darkness to churn out a gloomy, self-loathing opus in the vein of Alice In Chains’ Dirt, it would be nice to see them channel their travails into something that combines more grounded subject matter with their signature brand of nostalgic fun. Instead, we get more of the usual cock-rock posturing and exaggerated machismo.
READ MORE HERE
http://consequenceofsound.net/2012/08/album-review-the-darkness-hot-cakes/
Billy Corgan talks GMO, TSA, FOX, New World Order…down the rabbit hole with Alex Jones from Infowars.com This is far deeper than new album promotional fluff. Listen…
Q101 isn’t as bullish on the new Pumpkins collection as the Sun Times’ Thomas Conner, sans a few tracks. “The Chimera” is the one we keep rolling back to over and over again. However, To our ears, there aren’t any hits. A few tunes are pretty damn solid though. But what the hell do we know: We loved Zwan here in HQ and most people ridicule that band’s lone effort. So, you may feel differently when you sample Oceania front-to-back.
Once again we agree with much of what Billy has to say, particularly his assessment of Facebook. A powerful platform, but not the end-all-be-all its made out to be. Read on and let us know what you think of the new Pumpkins album in the comments section (and on Facebook, or course!)
As usual, Starting late in 2009, Billy Corgan and his Smashing Pumpkins molded the distribution plan of their new music to the emerging habits of the Internet and its hit-or-miss consumption patterns. With an ambitious, 44-track song cycle in mind called “Teargarden by Kaleidyscope,” the band dropped a dozen songs a few at a time, like digital mini-EPs.
By last fall, however, Corgan lamented the effort, saying it was “a tremendous amount of energy to put out to just feel like you’re throwing a pebble in the ocean.”
“I reached a point where I saw that the one song at a time idea had maxed itself out,” he said. “I just saw we weren’t getting the penetration in to everybody that I would have hoped. I mean, we have 1.3 million followers on our Facebook page, right? So you think you put [a song] up and 1.3 million people are gonna see it — but only if they’re looking at the exact moment it goes up.”
He added: “I just saw that we weren’t reaching the sort of casual person who still gets their information from traditional sources. So I thought, ‘What do I need to do?’ and then I thought, ‘OK, I’ll go back to making an album.’ ”
The result is “Oceania,” the next 13 songs in the “Teargarden” cycle but released in one batch like a traditional album. For once, believe the advance buzz about it — this is easily one of the best albums of the band’s entire career.
Source: http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/13189767-421/pumpkins-ambitious-oceania-shows-the-band-as-vibrant-vital-as-ever.html
Three Days Grace has just announced they are releasing a new album October 2, 2012.
Three Days Grace, a Canadian band, formed under the name Groundswell in Norwood, Ontario, Canada in 1992. After a breakup in 1995, the band reformed in 1997 under its current name and with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer and backing vocalist Neil Sanderson, and bassist Brad Walst. In 2003, Barry Stock was recruited as the band’s lead guitarist.
Three Days Grace’s first single, “Animal I Have Become”, has been their most successful, becoming 2006′s most played rock song in Canada. The album helped propel Three Days Grace to become the number one rock artist in airplay in the US and Canada in 2007, with Billboard ranking them as the number one rock artist of the year in 2007.
The announcement for the new release, ”Transit of Venus”, coincided with the actual transit of Venus across the sun, a once in a lifetime event for all of us.
SEE ANNOUNCEMENT
http://www.threedaysgrace.com/us/news/transit-venus
In exactly one month, The Offspring will release their new album, Days Go By.
The Offspring, from Huntington Beach, CA, have sold over 34 million albums worldwide, making them one of the best-selling punk rock acts of all time. Each album since the release of their 1994 album Smash has sold over a million units.
The Offspring will perform at RIOT FEST September 14-16 at Humboldt Park.
READ MORE and HEAR THE TITLE TRACK
http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/search/band_artist.asp?artist=The%20Offspring
Q101 is happy to welcome Bruce Rave, one of America’s top experts on new music. Originally from Chicago, Bruce moved to LA and gained fame as an A & R man at Capitol Records. His ears have first heard some of the biggest bands in the world in the last quarter century. He’s graciously agreed to break new music he’s digging here on Q101 and we thank him! If you want to check out more of his work, and some more indie rock that isn’t played anywhere else in the world, please go to Moheak.com. Make sure you rate the music so we know what you like and want to hear more of on Q101!
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In February 2012, shortly after an amazing tour of Japan, GREEK FIRE drummer and longtime STORY OF THE YEAR drum tech Johnny Venus was diagnosed with Leukemia. As anyone can imagine, this devastating news came as a complete shock and rocked the entire camp to the core. Johnny is fighting the battle of his life, and even in these darkest of times his incredible courage and strength inspired Johnny’s fellow band mates to write a song about this profoundly difficult and emotional journey.
The song, “If this is the End (The Sound of Belief) was utilized for a video GREEK FIRE released via YouTube on May 15th, 2012. The video was made for zero dollars by a group of amazing and selfless individuals that donated their time and talents with no thought of reward or payment, and the result is a heartfelt and emotional offering of hope and support for anyone, anywhere who has experience with cancer. Greek Fire is releasing this video in hopes that it can help people find the courage and strength to fight with all of their heart, and that there are people everywhere in the world fighting with them. That is the mission: HOPE. Please share this video with as many people as you can. Nothing will make Johnny Venus and the band more proud than if it can help someone, somewhere, in some way.
READ MORE-SEE THE VIDEO
http://johnnyvenusgf.tumblr.com/
There’s no denying that Joey Ramone was one of the most important musical figures of the 20th century. His strange frame stood powerfully onstage, giving hope to all the ugly outcasts that they could someday do the same.
Culled from home demos and assembled posthumously by brother Mickey Leigh and Ed Stasium (producer and engineer on many a Ramones album), “…ya know?” manages to maintain a cohesive sound despite its disjointed source material.
Luke Jaxon of Alternative Press gives a detailed review of the new release. You can also hear track samples.
READ MORE
http://www.altpress.com/reviews/entry/joey_ramone_ya_know
A seventh studio album is in the works for this sister duo. “I think people are going to be really excited,” Tegan Quin says of the still-untitled album. “I think we have a really good batch of songs. I know on the last record [2009’sSainthood] we were experimenting a lot—like on “Paperback Head” and “Arrow.” Not all the songs landed, but certain tracks really did, and I think with this one, this is going to be more in the vein the way people got attached to So Jealous and The Con. They’re all really good songs—really good stories, really good intentions.”
When the album will see the light of day is another story. “Our hope is to mix in May and part of April as well, so hopefully we’ll have a finished record by June,” Quin says. “And it really all just depends on the label. If the label is really excited and doesn’t want us to put it out right away, then we’re actually pretty committed to that. We’ve seen a lot of different bands who held their record. Adele’s record was complete for almost six months before they put it out.
“I want to say the record will be out by the end of the year,” she adds. “But there is a possibility that the record will actually come out in 2013. Who knows?”
Annie Zaleski from Alternative Press interviewed Tegan Quin. The interview is here:
http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/tegan_and_sara_new_album_interview/
To commemorate their induction this year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, multi-platinum rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers will release a very special digital-only EP, entitled We Salute You. It features six songs from previous Hall of Fame inductees, all of whom have influenced the band musically. The Ramones, Iggy & The Stooges, Neil Young, David Bowie, The Beach Boys, and Dion and the Belmonts.
The EP will be released by Warner Brothers on May 1.
READ MORE:
http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/musicnews/article/2522/What-Covers!-Chili-Peppers-to-Release-Covers-EP
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