Zappagram #90: And the worst album title of 2023 goes to...
Smokey Robinson for "Gasms"
Hey Zappagrammers,
Where I am, there’s currently two feet of snow, and it’s -25º right now. Needless to say, fuck every last bit of that nonsense. I’ll be staying inside and listening to some tunes, thankyouverymuch. I hope that wherever you are, you’re keeping warm and cozy and that your winter is less miserable than mine has been so far.
A.O. Gerber is an artist I’ve recently discovered and become quite obsessed with. Her latest album, 2022’s Meet Me At The Gloaming is an under-the-radar underrated gem if ever there was one. I’ve been especially digging on the song, “Just As A Child” which kicks off this week’s Zappagram playlist. You’ve gotta listen to it. It’s beautiful and moody and it needs to be in your ears. It’s one of those songs I found and proceeded to listen to about 100 times.
In other news, this week Rolling Stone published an article, “28 Rock Albums We’re Looking Forward To In 2024” which informs us that in 2024 we can expect new music from many artists we already knew about (Sleater-Kinney, Green Day, The Smile, Brittany Howard, Madi Diaz) and many we didn’t know about until now (The Jesus and Mary Chain, Black Keys, The Cure, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.)
Personally, I’m most excited for the Feb 16 release of IDLES’ new album Tangk.
Who do you hope to see new music from in 2024? Sound off in the comments!
One of my 2024 goals is to include a piece of original artwork in every week’s newsletter. This week, the artwork and quote of the week are both Chuck D. Every music newsletter needs more Chuck D, if you ask me.
Ground control to reader: Take your protein pills. Put your helmet on.
This newsletter ain’t gonna read itself.
“Music and art and culture is escapism, and escapism sometimes is healthy for people to get away from reality. The problem is when they stay there.”
—Chuck D
ROCK THE VOTE
:: MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
WEEKLY PLAYLIST
:: NEW MUSIC EVERY WEEK
Featuring: A.O. Gerber, The Cloud Premiere, The Black Keys, Spoon, The Shore, Liam Gallagher & John Squire, Vision Video, Matthew Logan Vasquez, King Khan, The Vaccines
ZAPPAGRAM #90
ZAPPAGRAM PLAYLIST (ALL WEEKS)
MUSIC NEWS
:: WHAT’S GOING ON
R.I.P.
Annie Nightingale, BBC Radio 1’s First Female DJ, Dies At 83
A statement from her family said she passed away at her home in London after a short illness [Billboard]
BACK TO BLACK
Amy Winehouse Biopic Back to Black Gets First Trailer
Marisa Abela stars as the legendary singer [Consequence]
DIFFERENT DRUM
Selena Gomez’s Linda Ronstadt Biopic to Be Directed By David O. Russell
It’s not hard to see why Gomez would be a good fit for the role. According to the Only Murders in the Building star herself, she bears a resemblance to the 11-time Grammy winner [Billboard]
OMFG KMFDM
KMFDM Prep New LP & 40th Anniversary Tour
Industrial icons are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year with a new album and a spring US tour [BrooklynVegan]
GONE TOO SOON
Sinéad O’Connor Died of Natural Causes, Coroner Says
The beloved Irish singer-songwriter passed away on July 26, 2023 at the age of 56 [Spin]
SURE, MORRISSEY, WHATEVER YOU SAY
Morrissey Claims He’s Being Erased From The Smiths’ Origin Story
He feels that there’s “an obvious media shift to delete me from being the central essence of The Smiths” and he won’t stand for it. [Stereogum]
I 🖤 PEDAL STEEL
Further Cosmic Pedal Steel Situations :: Winter 2024
The cosmic pedal steel scene continues to expand — and we’re here for it. Daniel Lanois, one of the godfathers of this movement, once called the pedal steel “my little church in a suitcase.” [AquariumDrunkard]
TERRIBLE ALBUM NAME
Smokey Robinson to TikTokers Discovering His 'Gasms': 'Get Your Mind Off Sex'
"Whatever makes you happy is a 'gasm' for you, so I wanna clear that up," soul legend says of 2023 LP [RollingStone]
BOSS MOVE
Bruce Springsteen Reportedly Working On Film of the Making of ‘Nebraska’
The project is said to involve 'Crazy Heart' director Scott Cooper [NME]
IT’S REALLY DAMN GOOD
T-Pain Reacts to Ozzy Osbourne Saying His Cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” Is the GOAT
On his latest album 'On Top of the Covers,' the hitmaker covers every genre from rock and pop to metal and country [Complex]
GOOD INTERVIEW
Mike Dirnt Explains Why Green Day Waited Until Now to Write About Trump
The bassist also responds to Elon's "American Idiot" diss and previews the band’s raw new album Saviors [RollingStone]
THAT’S A LOTTA STREAMS
The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" Becomes First Song To Hit 4 Billion Spotify Streams
Abel Tesfaye is also the platform's most listened artist with 113 million monthly listeners [Complex]
MAYNARD KICKS ASS
Tool Frontman Maynard James Keenan Earns Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
The singer has been training in the martial art since the 1990s [NME]
Z-REX
:: ZAPPA’S RECOMMENDATIONS
Hermanos Gutiérrez is a Swiss-Latin instrumental band formed in 2015 in Zürich by Ecuadorian-Swiss brothers Alejandro Gutiérrez and Estevan Gutiérrez. In 2022, they released their fifth album, El Bueno y el Malo. Here’s a brilliant recent live performance (Sept 2023) from KEXP Studios in Seattle.
NEW RELEASES
:: RECENTLY DROPPED MUSIC
Cocteau Twins: Four-Calendar Café (2024 Remaster) [listen]
Cocteau Twins: Milk & Kisses (2024 Remaster) [listen]
Kali Uchis: Orquídeas [listen]
Kid Cudi: Insano [listen]
Lou Reed: Hudson River Wind Meditations [listen]
Proper Pet: The Pink House [listen]
The Vaccines: Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations [listen]
RELEASE RADAR
:: UPCOMING RELEASES
- 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
- FEB 2 -
Brittany Howard: What Now
J Mascis: What Do We Do Now
Lee “Scratch” Perry: King Perry
Paul McCartney & Wings: Band on the Run (Underdubbed Mixes)
- FEB 9 -
Chelsea Wolfe: She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She
Madi Diaz: Weird Faith
Sonic Youth: Walls Have Ears
- FEB 16 -
Grandaddy: Blu Wav
Idles: Tangk
ON THIS DATE
:: MUSICAL HAPPENINGS OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
- JAN 15 -
Birthdays: Don Van Vliet, a.k.a. Captain Beefheart (1941) • Ronnie Van Zant (1948) • Boris Blank of Yello (1953) • Doug Erickson of Garbage (1953) • Adam Jones of Tool (1965) • The Eagles were at #1 on the U.S. album chart with Hotel California, the group's third U.S. #1 album. (1977) • English bass guitarist Dee Murray died after suffering a stroke aged 45. He is best known as a member of Elton John's band. (1992) • Harry Nilsson died in his sleep of heart failure. (1994) • Chicago blues vocalist/harmonica player, Junior Wells died aged 63. (1998) • Dolores O’Riordan from The Cranberries died unexpectedly while she was in London for a recording session. (2018)
- JAN 16 -
Birthdays: Sade (1959) • Aaliyah (1979) • Nick Valensi of The Strokes (1981) • Jamaican authorities opened fire on Jimmy Buffett's seaplane, mistaking it for a drug trafficker's plane. U2 singer Bono was also on the plane; neither singer was injured in the incident. (1996) • Bassist for the Germs, Lorna Doom died of cancer age 61. (2019) • American producer Phil Spector died in prison age 81. (2021)
- JAN 17 -
Birthdays: Eartha Kitt (1927) • Steve Earle (1955) • Susanna Hoffs (1959) • Andy Rourke of The Smiths (1963) • Calvin Harris (1984) • Jeremiah Fraites of The Lumineers (1986) • Motley Crue formed in Los Angeles. (1981) • Van Conner, bassist for Screaming Trees, died from pneumonia age 55. (2023)
- JAN 18 -
Birthdays: David Ruffin of The Temptations (1941) • Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins (`958) • Jonathan Davis of Korn (1971) • Canadian folk singer Kate McGarrigle died of cancer at home in Montreal at the age of 63. (2010) • Glenn Frey died at the age of 67 in New York City from complications arising from rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and pneumonia. (2016) • American singer-songwriter and guitarist David Crosby died age 81. (2023)
- JAN 19 -
Birthdays: Phil Everly (1937) • Janis Joplin (1943) • Dolly Parton (1946) • Robert Palmer (1949) • Carl Perkins died aged 65 from throat cancer. (1998) • American soul singer Wilson Pickett died in a hospital near his Ashburn, Virginia, home of a heart attack at age 64. (2006) • The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner announced that Tom Petty had died accidentally from mixed drug toxicity. (2018)
- JAN 20 -
Birthdays: Paul Stanley (1952) • Nathan Connolly of Snow Patrol (1981) • American DJ Alan Freed died at the age of 42 from cirrhosis brought on by alcoholism. (1965) • During an Ozzy Osbourne concert in Des Moines, Iowa, a member of the audience threw a bat onto the stage. Stunned by the light, the bat lay motionless, and thinking it was a rubber fake, the singer picked it up and attempted to bite its head off. After the show, Ozzy was immediately rushed to the nearest hospital for rabies shots. (1982) • Etta James died from complications of leukemia at the age of 73. (2012) • American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor Meat Loaf died at age 74. (2022)
- JAN 21 -
Birthdays: Wolfman Jack (1938) • Richie Havens (1941) • Billy Ocean (1950) • Jam Master Jay of Run DMC and Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack (1965) • Chris Kilmore of Incubus (1973) • Soul singer Jackie Wilson died aged 49. (1984)
Follow me on Threads, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, or Medium for more (mostly) music-related content. Check out the “Will Work For Vinyl” t-shirts available in my shop.
Peace and love to all,
🤘🏻🖤
