Zappagram #86: What do you get the person who already has everything?
In other words, happy birthday, Taylor Swift!
Hey friends,
In last week’s poll, I asked if any of you are fans of the band Paramore. You can see the results below (it’s about half and half split.) I asked because I just don’t get the rabid attraction to this band, and I do mean rabid. I made the mistake of commenting on a Stereogum post on Instagram and asking if anyone could explain the band to me because I just don’t get them. You’d have thought I insulted the band, which I certainly did not, but that didn’t stop Paramore fans from attacking me as if I had personally slapped all their mothers in the face. Sheesh.
From this experience, I learned that they may not be the band for me, and I might not see what’s so special about them, but they certainly have a doggedly loyal fanbase that, dare I say, might even come close to rivaling Swifties. I’m not sure if that’s a stretch or not. I think their dedication is as strong, though perhaps they don’t have the numbers that Taylor has.
Anyhoo…
be sure to follow me on Threads / Instagram / Facebook / TikTok for more of this nonsense. Okay, enough shameless self-promotion. Let’s do this.
Ground control to reader: Take your protein pills. Put your helmet on.
This newsletter ain’t gonna read itself.
“No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.”
—Taylor Swift
ROCK THE VOTE
:: MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
LAST WEEK’S POLL
:: HERE’S THE RESULTS
WEEKLY PLAYLIST
:: NEW MUSIC EVERY WEEK
Featuring: Fuji Gateway, k.d. lang, The Apache Relay, Everything But The Girl, Aimee Mann, Dire Straits, Broken Social Scene, Sade, Gotye, The Shins
ZAPPAGRAM #86
ZAPPAGRAM PLAYLIST (ALL WEEKS)
MUSIC NEWS
:: WHAT’S GOING ON
PJ Harvey Releases New Concert Film, Shot at L’Olympia in Paris
Watch the full 22-song performance in support of her latest album, I Inside the Old Year Dying [Consequence]
Jenny Lewis Announces Winter 2024 Joy’all Ball Tour Dates
The singer-songwriter will continue to support Joy’all with U.S. concerts in February and March [Pitchfork]
Taylor Swift Donates $1 Million to Tennessee Communities Devastated by Tornadoes
Six people died and dozens were injured after tornadoes ravaged multiple counties in the state [RollingStone]
Dave Grohl Feeds Homeless During Day Off From Foo Fighters’ Australian Tour
Grohl treated the Melbourne community to "an epic American style BBQ with all the trimmings" [Consequence]
Kathleen Hanna Announces Rebel Girl Book Tour
Proceeds from the Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, and Julie Ruin musician’s tour will go to Peace Sisters [Pitchfork]
Joey Ramone Estate Auctions Memorabilia to Help Punk Rocker Jesse Malin
Punk rocker Jesse Malin was left paralyzed from the waist down after suffering a rare spinal stroke in May [Consequence]
Tom Petty Estate, Auction House Resolve Issue Over ‘Stolen’ Items
"RR Auction facilitated the safe return of the items, which have been returned to the Petty family’s secure archives," both sides said in joint statement [RollingStone]
Ween to Play Chocolate & Cheese 30th Anniversary Show
The band will be playing a few 2024 shows ahead of the Chocolate & Cheese set [Consequence]
Sarah McLachlan Taps Feist and Allison Russell for Fumbling Towards Ecstasy Anniversary Tour
Released worldwide in 1994, the singer-songwriter’s third album helped her break out beyond Canada [Pitchfork]
Jeffrey Foskett, Whose Falsetto Powered Brian Wilson’s Band and the Beach Boys, Dead at 67
Foskett joined the Beach Boys touring band in 1981 and his voice became an integral part of their sound over the past four decades [RollingStone]
Denny Laine, Co-Founder of Wings, Dead at 79
The musician died at the age of 79 after a lengthy battle with interstitial lung disease [Consequence]
Go-Go’s Guitarist Jane Wiedlin Claims Influential Rock DJ Sexually Abused Her as a Teen
Six women now accuse famed former KROQ DJ and club owner Rodney Bingenheimer of molesting them when they were underage [RollingStone]
Wu-Tang Clan Announce 2024 Las Vegas Residency
Kicking off during Super Bowl weekend [Consequence]
Z-REX
:: ZAPPA’S RECOMMENDATIONS
Harp’s Albion Reviewed: Former Midlake frontman finds his artistic grail with new project
Read MOJO’s verdict on the new album from former Midlake frontman Tim Smith [MOJO]
NEW RELEASES
:: RECENTLY DROPPED MUSIC
Arlo Parks: My Soft Machine (Deluxe) [listen]
Car Seat Headrest: Faces From the Masquerade [listen]
The Killers: Rebel Diamonds [listen]
Neil Young: Before and After [listen]
RELEASE RADAR
:: UPCOMING RELEASES
- DEC 15 -
The Black Crowes: The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion (Super Deluxe Box Set)
EELS: EELS So Good: Essential EELS, Vol.2
Fall Out Boy: Take This to Your Grave (20th Anniversary Edition)
- JAN 12 -
Kali Uchis: Orquídeas
Lou Reed: Hudson River Wind Meditations
The Vaccines: Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations
- JAN 19 -
Green Day: Saviors
Sleater-Kinney: Little Rope
- JAN 26 -
Future Islands: People Who Aren’t There Anymore
Gruff Rhys: Sadness Sets Me Free
The Smile: Wall of Eyes
Ty Segall: Three Bells
ON THIS DATE
:: MUSICAL HAPPENINGS OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
- DEC 11 -
Birthdays: Big Mama Thornton (1926) • David Gates of Bread (1940) • Brenda Lee (1944) • Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe (1958) • Curtis Williams of Kool & The Gang (1962) • Justin Currie of Del Amitri (1964) • DJ Yella of NWA (1967) • Soul singer Sam Cooke was shot dead at the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California. (1964) • Ravi Shankar died after undergoing heart valve replacement surgery. (2012)
- DEC 12 -
Birthdays: Frank Sinatra (1915) • Dionne Warwick (1940) • Grover Washington Jr. and Dicky Betts of The Allman Brothers Band (1943) • Rob Tyner of MC5 (1944) • Guitarist & founding member of Steely Dan, Denny Dias (1946) • Sheila E. (1959) • Dan Hawkins of The Darkness (1976) • The Doors played what would be their last ever live show with Jim Morrison at the Warehouse in New Orleans. (1970)
- DEC 13 -
Birthdays: American session musician Chuck Findley (1947) • Jeff “Skunk:” Baxter (1948) • Tom Verlaine of Television (1949) • Tom Delonge of Blink 182 (1975) • Amy Lee of Evanescence (1981) • Taylor Swift (1989) • Bruce Hornsby & The Range went to #1 on the U.S. singles chart with “The Way It Is.” (1986)
- DEC 14 -
Birthdays: Cliff Williams of AC/DC (1949) • Peter 'Spider' Stacy of The Pogues (1958) • Mike Scott of The Waterboys (1958) • Beth Orton (1970) • The Clash released their third studio album London Calling. (1979) • Yoko Ono called on fans to observe ten minutes of silence in memory of John Lennon. 30,000 gathered outside St George's Hall in Liverpool, while nearly 100,000 attended a memorial in New York's Central Park. (1980) • Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun died, aged 83. (2006)
- DEC 15 -
Birthdays: Legendary producer & A&R scout John Hammond (1910) • Max Yasgur, owner of the farm where the 1969 Woodstock festival was held (1919) • American DJ Alan Freed (1921) • Carmine Appice, drummer of Vanilla Fudge (1946) • Paul Simonon, bassist with The Clash (1955) • American multi-instrumentalist Tim Reynolds (1957) • Alana Haim (1991) • “Do They Know It's Christmas?” by Band Aid entered the charts at #1 and stayed at the top for five weeks. (1984)
- DEC 16 -
Birthdays: Robben Ford (1951) • Steven Irvine, drummer for Lloyd Cole And The Commotions (1959) • Frank Zappa's film 200 Motels opened at London's Piccadilly Classic Cinema in the UK. The film, which also featured Ringo Star, covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town of Centerville. (1971) • MTV aired Nirvana's Unplugged session for the first time. (1993) • Dan Fogelberg died at his home in Maine at the age of 56. (2007)
- DEC 17 -
Birthdays: Art Neville (1937) • Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations (1939) • Paul Butterfield (1942) • Drummer Jim Hodder (1947) • Paul Rodgers (1949) • Mike Mills of R.E.M. (1958) • Bob Stinson of The Replacements (1959) • Micky Quinn of Supergrass (1969) • Taylor York of Paramore (1989) • David Bowie released his fourth album Hunky Dory. (1971) • Captain Beefheart died, aged 69, from complications from multiple sclerosis. (2010)
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Until next week, friends…
🤘🏻🖤
