Monday Music News

09/23/2013

Jake Uitti

Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is on a hunger strike, protesting an atmosphere of “slave labor” in her Russian prison. Today, she writes in a letter proliferated by her husband, “I am going on hunger strike and refusing to participate in colony slave labor. I will do this until the administration starts obeying the law and stops treating incarcerated women like cattle.” Tolokonnikova, along with the rest of her band, were sentenced to two years in jail in August 2012 for expressing “hatred and hostility” toward Russian Orthodox for performing a “punk prayer” asking the Virgin Mary to free Russia from President Vladimir Putin [Reuters]. See their video for "Like a Red Prison" here:

MTV and VH1 released some never-before-seen rehearsal footage of Nirvana from a December 13, 1993 concert at Seattle’s Pier 48. The videos show the band playing “Very Ape” and “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter” and are a part of DVD release for the 20^th anniversary of In Utero [Pitchfork].

The title of the song The National wrote for the new Hunger Games movie was originally deemed too morbid. The band wrote a song they called “Dying Is Easy” but later changed the title to “Lean”. The song itself almost didn’t make the soundtrack “because it was too dark,” said The National’s frontman Matt Berninger. But the song, in the end, with its new title, will be included [NME]. See The National's "Sea Of Love" video here:

Tom Waits announced he will play an acoustic set Sunday, October 27, at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, as part of Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit concert. He also offered one of the greatest statements in recent history, “I had every good intention to stay home and work on my JD Salinger Halloween mask, but when Neil told me yesterday he was serving burnt cow's eyes on a flat tire and it's all gluten free, I invited myself!” He will play songs from his most recent album, Bad As Me [NME]. Watch Tom play "Waltzing Matilda" here:

Mumford & Sons have announced the band is going on hiatus “for the foreseeable future.” The band’s keyboardist, Ben Lovett, told Rolling Stone that the band is “going to take a considerable amount of time off and just go back to hanging out and having no commitments or pressure.” The band has no date in mind for returning to the public eye. Watch their video for "Sigh No More" live on MTV Unplugged here:

Related News & Reviews

Daily Roundups

The Men have graced us with yet another track from their upcoming acoustic EP Campfire Songs, which was literally recorded around a campfire. "Turn Your Colors" showcases the band's ability to create an emotive track that almost relies entirely on their instrumental prowess. The sweeping guitars a…

Daily Roundups

Friday Music News

Canadian electric duo Purity Ring have taken on the challenge of remixing Lady Gaga's underwhelming single "Applause." Their version's pounding chorus is sure to take dance clubs by storm, which is Gaga's perfect niche. This remix really deserves the applause. [SPIN]