Monday Music News

07/18/2016

Janice Headley

As the music world reels from the news of Alan Vega's passing, several fans have shared cover versions of Suicide songs online. Check out Win Butler of Arcade Fire's take on the 1979 single "Dream Baby Dream" below, shared under his DJ Windows 98 name, and MGMT's resurrection of Vega's 1983 track "Goodbye Darling." Devon Welsh, formerly of Majical Cloudz, shares an original track he wrote in 2011 but never released, titled "Me and Alan Vega." R.I.P. Alan Vega.

Seattle stars The Head & the Heart share a new song from their forthcoming album. Stream the single "Library Magic" below, to be released September 9th on Signs of Light out via Warner Bros. Charity Thielen says via a press release, "I wrote that song after having our first real time off as a band. It touches on the storied relationships between band members trying to survive living in a van off of accelerated time and gas station crafts for years straight, but it also applies to any of life's relationships." The band play two homecoming shows -- Saturday, November 5th and Sunday, November 6th -- at the Paramount Theatre. [Under the Radar]

Later this summer, Dinosaur Jr. return with their eleventh album, Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not. Today, guitarist extraordinaire J. Mascis gives a glimpse of every guitar solo on the LP, a kinda hilarious, but pretty genius nearly 7 minute sonic celebration. Listen below. Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not hits stores on August 5th via Jagjaguwar, and Dinosaur Jr. return to Seattle Saturday, October 1st at The Showbox. [Stereogum]

Portland's Unknown Mortal Orchestra share a cinematic new clip today for the track "First World Problem," their first new music since 2015's Multi-Love. Choreographer Kianí Del Valle captures the push-and-pull of relationships, telling Nowness.com, "With ‘First World Problem’ I aimed to create a dialogue between two art forms — film and music. I wanted the video to be a response to the band’s lyrics and musical melodies, rather than showing literally what the song is saying. I am a big fan of silent films and how unspoken language can add a second layer to speech." Watch below: [Pitchfork]

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Wilco's upcoming, and tenth, studio album, Schmilco, drops on September 9. They're latest song "If I Ever Was a Child" and is available for immediate download if you pre-order the album on iTunes. Thanks to Spotify, you can check out the track below. [Pitchfork]

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R.I.P. Alan Vega

Today, the music world lost another star, as Alan Vega, co-founder of '70s proto-punk duo Suicide, passed away. Vega's friend and fan Henry Rollins announced that "relentlessly creative" and "startlingly unique" artist died peacefully in his sleep. According to Vega's family approved statement: