The end of August generally signals the end of summer, but there is still some great new music looking to soundtrack some final beach trips and backyard BBQs before things cool down. This week’s big releases belong to Big Red Machine (the project of Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner) and Chvrches, but I’m most excited for Turnstile’s (hopefully) breakthrough record which is probably the biggest hardcore release of the year.
Halsey has a new album this week and unlike a plethora of other pop stars, she is not working with Jack Antonoff, but rather got production from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. These days, the duo might be a tad more notorious for their award-winning film scores than their work as Nine Inch Nails, but I, for one, am intrigued on the results.
Caribou dropped a surprise new single this week as a follow-up to last year’s awesome Suddenly, Dan Snaith’s album first under that moniker in six years. My Morning Jacket announced a new album due this fall and so did country sensation Kacey Musgraves.
The Beatles have announced a reissue of Let It Be for its upcoming 50th anniversary. The box set arrives just ahead of the new Peter Jackson documentary around the infamous final recording sessions which is due November 25 on Disney+. The box set contains 41 previously unreleased versions of songs from the recordings.
John Coltrane’s estate has also announced a new recording from 1965 in which A Love Supreme was played in full, a notably rare occurrence, and features other greats such as Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Jimmy Garrison, and more.
Earlier this week, the world lost the long-time drummer from the biggest rock band on the planet. I wrote a little tribute to him and you can read it after this week’s suggest new music.
Albums:
Turnstile | GLOW ON
Big Red Machine | How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?
Chvrches | Screen Violence
The Bug | Fire
Patti Smith | Live at Electric Lady
Halsey | If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
Gorillaz | Meanwhile EP
Container | Creamer EP
Mouse Rat | The Awesome Album
Songs:
Caribou | “You Can Do It”
My Morning Jacket | “Regularly Scheduled Programming”
Kacey Musgraves | “star-crossed” / “justified”
Nothing | “Amber Gambler”
Courtney Barnett | “I’ll Be Your Mirror” [Velvet Underground cover]
Helado Negro | “Outside the Outside”
MONO | “Innocence”
Explosions in the Sky | “Climbing Bear”
The Beatles | “Don’t Let Me Down” (First Rooftop Performance)
Joni Mitchell | “Chelsea Morning” [Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY, 2/1/1969]
If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2021) here!
As a devout Beatles fan, it never seemed possible to love the Stones with the same passion and as a Ringo obsessor, Charlie Watts never stood a chance of winning me over. However, upon the news of his passing, I was struck with grief and sadness at the loss of a legend. Perhaps because of all the members of the Stones, I thought he’d be the last to go given his legacy. I never saw the Stones and regret it. The biggest rock and roll band to ever exist and Charlie Watts was the backbone and heartbeat behind them for nearly 60 years.
I always have a fondness for drummers and Charlie seemed like one of the coolest. With the Glimmer Twins taking center stage and defining what it would mean to be a rock star in the ‘60s and for the rest of time, Watts never looked to enter the spotlight. He sat firmly in place, behind his drummer kit, and let his playing speak for itself. No one ever calls out the drumming in a Stones song and to him, that may have been the biggest compliment. Jagger had the swagger and Keith had the riffs that would propel them into another echelon of stardom, but since 1963, Watts was the only other member of the Stones who would never miss a single gig and keep everything together while these two (and later Ronnie Woods) would parade around stage to entertain their masses.
A lover of Jazz and the embodiment of effortless cool, Watts always seemed the most grounded member of the band (although there has now been an infamous story floating around all week of the time he called out Jagger by saying “I’m not your dummer, you’re my singer!” before throwing a sharp, right hook directly at Mick’s face). He stood by, or behind, his bandmates and really let them shine, holding down a groove with such regiment that it really should be acknowledged at just how steady his playing was and why it allowed the rest of the Stones to truly flourish. So many other drummers will add fills and solos wherever possible to remind the crowd they’re there and accentuate songs. Hell, even Ringo grabbed the mic to sing one on most Beatles albums. Not Watts. He never strayed beyond keeping the beat and did so with such class and nonchalance that he was never admired in the same way as so many of his contemporaries. He wasn’t grandiose like Keith Moon, John Bonham, or Ginger Baker or as flashy and charming as Ringo, but none of those guys could’ve played drums for the Stones.
No, there was only one Charlie Watts and he was perhaps the best musician in the what was once, perhaps, the best band in the world.