Category: News

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The last time I spoke with Ryley Walker, he wasn’t far removed from the darkest period of his life. In the spring of 2019, the inventive guitarist and songwriter — who’s also known for his hilarious social media presence — checked himself into rehab for drug and alcohol dependency. The decision came after Walker came close to taking his own life while on tour in New Mexico.

Thankfully, times are much better these days for the 31-year-old Illinois native. On Friday, he will release Course In Fable, his finest studio album to date. A die-hard fan of the English pop-prog band Genesis and a devout student of Chicago post-rock, Walker has somehow merged these influences on Fable, stitching together multi-part songs heavy on wonky guitar solos and unexpected time signature changes. In the studio, he was assisted by John McEntire, a Chicago indie legend known for his work with Tortoise and The Sea And Cake. The result is one of 2021’s most unabashedly gorgeous and grand indie records.

Having recently parted ways with his label, Secretly Canadian, Walker opted to put out Course In Fable on his own. That means he also doesn’t have a publicist or any other infrastructure for promotion and distribution. Nevertheless, Course In Fable has garnered some of the best reviews of his career. More than that, it feels like a creative breakthrough for Walker, who’s already recognized as one of the leading lights of the contemporary indie jam scene.

“Things are great,” he told me. “I’ve got a great relationship with my mind and body and spirit. I don’t have it all figured out, but I’m living in some sort of solution. Living is the big keyword there. I’m very happy and there’s no heaviness to my life. The only heaviness is 1970- to 1975-era Genesis.”

I caught up with Walker at his temporary home in western Massachusetts, where Walker moved after New York City proved to be too expensive during the pandemic. (He noted that the region is best known for spawning butt-rock kingpins Staind, about whom he’s expressed genuine appreciation.) In May, he plans to move ever farther north to Vermont. In a way, the pastoral vibe of Course In Fable presages these changes.

“I thought I was just going to die in a gutter as a martyr like, ‘I am a city person.’ But man, I just want to drink water from a well and live,” Walker said.

In our interview, we talked a lot about Genesis and a little about his own music.

Selling England By The Pound or Foxtrot?

Well, I pick Selling England by the Pound. Foxtrot is Genesis reading the book of Genesis in their own story of Genesis. And then we start to get into Exodus — we’re just keeping it in a biblical theme here — and it’s just so much more exploratory. And their sense of humor, which I think is underrated. Peter Gabriel has this amazing sense of humor. Obviously on stage he looks like a total idiot, and is just very boisterous and loud and obnoxious with what he wears and I think that comes through way more on Selling England By The Pound. It’s performative, but it’s not some “arty proscenium stage” thing. It’s really accessible and funny. It seems like average people doing prog rock rather than scholars and people who dig too deep into a Thesaurus or something. It’s very much working-person’s prog, in my opinion.

I know you love Peter Gabriel-era Genesis, but can we also talk about the Phil Collins era? I don’t like it when people are snobby about the Phil years.

I mean, it’s a real shame. We have all these great documents of how great of a band they were, so I don’t really feel like I need to prove anything. The records are a dollar apiece if you go to a record store. There’s enough live footage out there to show the power Phil Collins had. And that’s a big job, man, to take over for Peter Gabriel. But all in all, I think they made the right decision, because we got A Trick Of The Tail out of it, which is probably my second favorite Genesis record. It’s a master class; it’s like AC/DC’s Back In Black, but with more dragons and shit, man. It’s the comeback record nobody thought would be so good and perfect, and it’s their formula. They didn’t change the formula at all. It’s uniquely Genesis.

I think Phil Collins, he’s a really brilliant guy. And, obviously, for his contributions to the band to just be boiled down to whatever shit people want to talk, is completely unfair. He took on, in my opinion, one of the hardest jobs ever and he did it very well. And the pop direction they went is also just genius. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. I can’t help you. I don’t know what sickness you have, but I can’t help you and I encourage you to explore more.

I celebrate everything all the way up to We Can’t Dance, which is goofy and as anti-establishment as you can imagine. That was in the peak era of rock ‘n’ roll and they made a record that was just so them. They were wearing big, dumb suits and they had a dance and everything and it was just all in their hands. They weren’t listening to anybody else except themselves and I think it was for the better.

A few years before that, in the mid-1980s, you had that magical confluence where Genesis, Phil Collins, and Peter Gabriel separately put out huge albums.

Yeah, absolutely. You had Peter Gabriel’s So, and you had Genesis’ Invisible Touch, and then you had Phil Collins’ No Jacket Required. All three of those are just punishingly beautiful records, and I think they set new standards for recording technology. These guys had millions of dollars. I’m sure they bought Porsches, they did the rock star thing, but they were also like, “Hey, let’s figure out how we can make recording better.” So today we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation were it not for Peter Gabriel inventing all these new studio techniques accessible to everybody.

Steve Hackett also went on quite a tear with his solo records. He has like 50 of them. His solo records are pretty phenomenal even up to the last 20 years. There’s a really good late-career peak for Steve Hackett right now and he tours around Europe and America just playing Genesis songs because he’s like, “Fuck you. I want some money. I’m going to play these better than those three oafs who are left over.”

What’s your stance on Mike + The Mechanics?

Mike + The Mechanics is a psychotic experience that should only be viewed in the rearview mirror as a fatal mistake. It’s one of the worst bands I’ve ever heard.

“The Living Years” may be a top five most hated song for me.

They’re totally bad. And it just goes to show to leave the leading to the lead person. You get a quarterly check. Just put a pool by your pool. You can do whatever you want. Mike + The Mechanics, god bless you, but it seems like you need to go under the hood on your own jams and really do some work there.

The only Genesis album I haven’t heard is Calling All Stations …, the one they made without either Gabriel or Collins.

That is like Saved By the Bell: The New Class times 100 and it’s evil. The only reason to listen to is to be like, “Wow, we had it pretty good with Phil, didn’t we?” They didn’t even try to bring in a ringer, like how King Crimson brought in Adrian Belew, or anybody to sing. They just brought in a guy who probably was pissing his pants with the band going like, “Well, he’s got gel in his hair and he can hit a high note. Let’s take him.”

At this point we should probably talk about your record, Course In Fable. This is a really accomplished album. This is an overused word but is it fair to call this your most ambitious record to date?

Yeah, I hate to use the word “ambition,” especially with a capital A. But I did strive to have a little ambition here. Usually [my music] is just like a really crappy Old Country Buffet-style slop I put on the plates. I feel like it’s always half-baked ideas that you have to pay $16 to hear. And it’s like, “Well, the pizza was interesting and they have a dessert part of the buffet …” But here I just wanted it to be a really well-rounded, full record and for every song to have some sort of ambition, whether that’s multiple parts or better lyrics. The work and the vision that Genesis puts into their music is a very big influential point for me, especially in recording quality. I love the sound of all the records I’ve done, but John McEntire has this really clean, front-of-the-mix style that I 100 percent wanted.

John McEntire is a major figure of Chicago post-rock, which I know is also a big influence on you. Do you see any connections between that and ’70s English prog?

A thing I told myself was I wanted this to sound like if Peter Gabriel was on Thrill Jockey. It’s a marriage of those two worlds. I mean, obviously, it’s 2021. Nobody has million-dollar budgets anymore, but I feel like Chicago post-rock came out of punk. And so they did all of these ambitious records on a budget and figured it out on their own. And I think that’s kind of what the early stages of prog were. It was this really exploratory music that maybe seems a bit closed off, but it’s all working-class people who do it. Chicago post-rock music, all of that is really based in experimentation through the studio. Live performance is obviously a big thing, but John is a master of using the studio as an instrument. So he’s influenced by dub music and prog music and all that stuff.

To what degree was your writing influenced by not having a record deal?

Well, I don’t have any good label fallout stories or anything. We’re all still friends. I had every intention to submit this to a label. So I wrote it per usual. I think I was better at writing this round because my head is clearer and I’m not living in my own shit and piss.

How do you like running your own label, Husky Pants?

I’m a big fan of Thurston Moore. He always had Sonic Youth records. But in between that, he has a hundred different weird records. Pitching these weird records to labels is tough. Not because they hate the music, but it’s hard to sell. It’s not worth their time to press 250 of these things. So starting a label that I can curate myself and work on my own dime and not really have to answer to anybody, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. It’s a really fun, creative source for me. I’m sure there’ll be moments where I’m like, “Oh my God, what do I do?” But for now it’s been really rewarding seeing the whole process from start to finish. I want to get as much stuff out as possible in a short amount of time. If I lose money on it, whatever. It’s just me in the end.

When you are able to tour again, do you expect to be back out ASAP?

I don’t want to be the first to go on tour and have it blow up in my face. If I go back on tour, it’ll be way, way scaled back. Three months in a van, surrounded by fucking fast-food wrappers and Big Gulps, is not my style anymore. There’s plenty of people who want to do that and who are eager to do it. And I say, godspeed. Touring is going to be really duking it out as far as booking agents go. Getting a gig will be pretty tough, I think. But heck, I hope I’m wrong.

I have completely realistic expectations for this record. I don’t expect it’s going to have this big, long shelf life. It’ll be a blip and gone. And with me, that’s cool. My goal with Husky Pants is to put out shit and break even. I try to have some sort of humility about music-business stuff. I’m just glad to be doing it. I work other side jobs. I was working at Target all winter, doing box stuff. It’s just great to detach from music and work with people who have never heard of Syd Barrett. I’m just stoked to be more present for family and friends. Anything else music-wise is a just gift and I’ll take it as it comes.

Course In Fable is out tomorrow via Husky Pants. Get it here.

The worlds of TV and film continue to roar back into action, quite literally with movies like Godzilla vs. Kong leading into the month of April. That signals a return to blockbuster mode, even if that’s mostly happening on the small screen until at least fall 2021. On the small screen, too, action was the name of the game leading back into a more plentiful supply of fresh content. Over the next month, you’ll see that streaming services and production teams have been working hard to bring us events for our own living rooms.

Disney+ led February and March with WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and before too long, Loki will bring his tricks to the streamer. Before that happens, there’s a whole heaping helping of varied programming coming your way on streaming services including HBO Max, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Netflix, and more from Disney+. Don’t count out the networks and traditional cable, though, because NBC is firing off an anticipated spinoff from a long-running franchise, and AMC’s bringing us gang warfare that makes Peaky Blinders look like a local warm-up act before a headlining band. With that said, here are the must-see (or, at least, must-try) shows for April 2021.

Made For Love (HBO Max series streaming on 4/1)

HBO Max recently struck dark-comedy gold with The Flight Attendant, and the WarnerMedia streamer is poised to do so again with Cristin Milioti maneuvering around a premise that’s even more dizzying than that of Palm Springs. Cristin stars as Hazel, and Ray Romano plays her father, who’s attempting to help her flee from a god-awful marriage with a guy (Billy Magnussen) who’s implanted a chip in her brain so that he can track her every move and emotion. It’s such a cynical spin on relationships, and it’s terrifying, all of it, to consider, but heck, this show will suck you into its compelling vortex. Did we mention that dad is a widower with a “synthetic partner”? Oh boy.

Law & Order: Organized Crime (NBC series debuting on 4/1)

Chris Meloni’s departure (and the way that Elliot Stabler was written out of Law & Order: SVU) always left an unsatisfying taste in the mouths of this long-running franchise’s fans. The good news, though, is that it’s all water under the Brooklyn bridge because Stabler is coming back to his old stomping grounds. The crossover episode with Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T will launch the show, and from there, it is full-on Stabler Time. Meloni’s movie and TV career outside this universe was worth the franchise break, yet his charisma was sorely missed, and there’s no place like home for his ill-tempered detective, who will surely have to adjust his behavior in a TV-cop landscape that’s quite unlike the atmosphere of yesteryear.

Gangs of London (AMC series debuting on 4/4)

AMC+ viewers already enjoyed the first season of this series and may even be tempted to revisit the turbulent power struggle all over again as it hits the traditional TV schedule. Fans of the beloved Peaky Blinders, as well, should pay attention because this new series makes Peaky seem like a pleasant walk in London’s Hyde Park. Warring gangs and a power vacuum and a city on its knees are only part of the attraction here. The rest is down to character-based writing and a wonderful cast that embodies a decidedly unglamorous take on warring criminal elements, all of which will prove to be addictive for anyone who loves The Sopranos or any of Marty Scorsese’s mob pictures.

Exterminate All the Brutes (HBO limited series debuting on 4/7)

This four-part documentary series tells a story of survival with a powerful message. Prepare to witness a search for truth and an examination of how history is written, and how those writings can irrevocably transform a society for the worse. Underneath it all, expect to watch this show while reexamining much of what you thought you knew about European colonialism, American slavery, and Native American genocide. It’s a visually arresting and sometimes bleak, frequently dark, and ultimately telling story about how mankind must reaffirm its own humanity in order to progress.

Them (Amazon Prime limited series streaming on 4/9)

This story’s sure to remind horror fans of Jordan Peele’s Us in more ways than a few, and for good reason. This show promises to explore American-bred terror with an anthologized approach, so the first season is all about the 1950s. Allison Pill’s reliably frightening, and here, she’s terrorizing a Black family, who moves into an all-white LA neighborhood and the welcome committee isn’t there for them, that’s for sure. Soon enough, the horror show begins; and both from a reality-based and a supernatural standpoint, this is pure nightmare fuel.

Fear the Walking Dead: Season 6B (AMC series returning on 4/11)

Against all expectations (and the audience’s experience), this zombie-series spinoff transformed itself and surprised the hell out of even die-hard fans of The Walking Dead universe. The storytelling has shifted to a character-based approach (and an isolated one at that, often focusing on finishing journeys before credits roll), and almost as importantly, there’s now a formidable villain in the mix, courtesy of Colby Minifie as Virginia. Can the show continue to sustain its current momentum? The franchise’s fans sure hope so, as other spinoffs warm up in the background.

The Nevers (HBO series debuting on 4/11)

Showrunner Joss Whedon exited this show last fall while explaining his departure as being due to pandemic difficulties, but nonetheless, production continued. What results, at least from the four episodes screened for critics, is an intriguing setup about a group of “orphans” (almost exclusively women) who find themselves “gifted” with supernaturally-powered abilities. There’s also a fair amount of ass-kicking going on in the debut episode, so these ladies are doing well to survive, even as part of an endangered underclass. The atmosphere is killer, and although the episode runtimes are somewhat extravagant, this show should gather a devoted audience.

Big Shot (Disney+ series streaming on 4/16)

David E. Kelley co-created and executive produces this series starring John Stamos as a down-on-his luck, ousted NCAA coach who’s attempting to get back on his (angry) feet with a ritzy private high-school gig. While reluctantly seeking redemption, Coach learns that his new team benefits from him showing some actual emotion beyond rage and stoicism, so he must — gasp — learn how to be vulnerable and empathetic. He might actually become a better person, too. The show co-stars Yvette Nicole Brown, who I hope gives Coach a really hard time (dude seems like he deserves it).

Mare of Easttown (HBO limited series debuting on 4/18)

Kate Winslet’s doing the small-screen thing again like all the cool kids, and she’s back with HBO after Mildred Pierce. This time around, she’s got Jean Smart (following up on HBO’s Watchmen), and this is a real assembling of the recent HBO casts, given that The Outsider‘s Julianne Nicholson is also on board. Kate portrays a small-town detective who’s naturally ignoring the crumbling of her own inner self while burying herself in the town’s murder cases. Past tragedies and a possibly sinister edge to the town’s close community will factor into the winding narrative, and who doesn’t love watching a messy detective lose their sh*t? I smell some Emmy nominations coming for the cast.

Sasquatch (Hulu “documentary” series streaming on 4/20)

So officially, this is a documentary series, although the Duplass Brothers are behind the project, so you gotta know that the show’s approach will be anything but straightforward. The series promises to dig into a gruesome triple homicide that was allegedly carried out by Bigfoot back in the 1990s. We’ve got investigative journalist David Holthouse, who’s promising to tell the craziest story that he’s ever heard, even after his undercover dives into Nazi groups and violent gangs. He heads back to the Redwoods (and the infamous Emerald Triangle) in search of the truth about those homicides, and somehow, there’s a bunch of cannabis involved, and that could directly be tied to the murders? This title arrives on April 20, so that (and the tone of the trailer, with distorted voices and a purposefully over-dramatic approach) probably tells us a lot here.

Rutherford Falls (Peacock series debuting on 4/22)

The newest Michael Schur sitcom is doing the streaming thing, and this show is flat-out putting its location in the title, in lockstep with the co-creator’s fixation with location. Can Rutherford Falls match up with Scranton and Pawnee, in the long run? That remains to be seen, but Ed Helms stars as Nathan Rutherford, who is (obviously, due to the last name) inextricably tied to the town’s history, and Nathan’s not taking too kindly to a movement to eject a historical statue. There’s more to that topic than one would assume, and the wrangling of Nathan seems down to his lifelong best pal, portrayed by Jana Schmieding. This looks about as refreshingly and delightfully offbeat as one would expect from The Good Place creator because everything he touches is magic.

Shadow and Bone (Netflix series streaming on 4/23)

Need a little fantasy to shut down reality for a while? You’re in luck. Based upon Leigh Bardugo’s bestselling Grishaverse novels, this show follows dark forces that move against an orphan mapmaker (Alina Starkov), whose power might be the key to transforming a war-torn world. Alina must conquer the Shadow Fold threat and train as an elite magical soldier (a Grisha) while learning that nothing is it seems, and she must also maneuver around a crew of charismatic criminals to determine who is an ally, who is an enemy, and who is both. The good news is that you really don’t need to know the books to enjoy the first season of this show, so surrender to the fold, so to speak.

The Handmaid’s Tale: Season 4 (Hulu series returning on 4/28)

Elisabeth Moss has so much going on these days, but she’s going back again to fight for freedom against the totalitarian government of Gilead. This season, she’ll lead the rebellion while fighting for justice and revenge, but perhaps the biggest threat she’ll face is staying true to herself and the relationships that she values most. Moss and the show keep on racking up Emmys, and she’s back with more with Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, O-T Fagbenle, Bradley Whitford, and Max Minghella. Expect the show to get nomadic this season, leaving the Boston area and officially abandoning home base, which must have presented quite the challenge while filming during a pandemic (as if the show wasn’t socially relevant enough already).

The Mosquito Coast (Apple TV+ series debuting on 4/30)

Justin Theroux’s headlining this series adaptation of Paul Theroux (yes, Paul is Justin’s actual uncle) novel previously brought to life in the mid-1980s with Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, and River Phoenix. Fast forward thirty freaking years, and there’s a sweeping version coming your way with all of the Apple TV+-style visuals that they tend to drop into their most “epic” productions. More than that, though, expect a gripping adventure with edge-of-your-seat drama while Theroux’s radically idealistic inventor character abruptly transplants his American family to one of Mexico’s famed coasts. There’s no telling whether this shall be a multi-season run or an officially limited series, but Justin previously told IndieWire that this is a sort-of prequel to the films, so we’re definitely not getting a straight-up remake, which is nothing but good news.

In the wake of a video surfacing that depicts a physical altercation between rappers Quavo and Saweetie at her North Hollywood apartment, TMZ reports that the LAPD is now investigating the situation. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that the department wants to question both rappers separately to obtain a clearer idea of what happened before, during, and after the fight, as the video only catches the tail end of what appears to be an argument that escalates to Saweetie swinging at Quavo and Quavo throwing Saweetie to the ground, apparently tussling over what appeared to be a video game console. There’s no sound, either.

If investigators find grounds for a criminal case, they’d turn their findings over to the City Attorney, who would determine any charges. Neither rapper has commented on the incident since the video surfaced, but Saweetie did confirm their breakup a week before it emerged, seemingly accusing Quavo of infidelity. Meanwhile, Quavo maintained that Saweetie was not “the woman [he] thought [she was].”

Until their breakup, the former couple was the toast of social media, with their cutesy stories and interactions becoming a source of fascination for fans and prompting the view of their relationship as “goals.” Unfortunately, it turns out that the curated social media image didn’t show the whole story — it never does — and the only goal fans should have is keeping violence out of their own relationships.

One of the unspoken rules of Twitter is that you never want to be its “main character” for the day, and Newsmax anchor Greg Kelly is learning that lesson the hard way. On Tuesday, the anchor and self-proclaimed “Beauty Influencer” fired off a strange tweet in response to Governor Andrew Cuomo legalizing recreational marijuana use in New York. According to Kelly, he once tried smoking “grass” and woke up four days later in another country. Via Twitter:

SMOKING WEED (aka GRASS) is NOT a good idea. I’ve tried it (back in the day) and it was WORSE than anything that happened to HUNTER BIDEN. I “toked up” with some buddies in Kentucky and woke up 4 days later in Nairobi, Kenya. With no idea what happened. DON’T DO DRUGS.

Of course, if you know anything about weed, nothing about this story adds up, and the tweet quickly went viral as people roasted Kelly for either trying his hand at satire or just being a terrible liar.

However, there were a few people who gave Kelly the benefit of the doubt by pointing out that if his story is true, that probably wasn’t weed that his friends gave him.

Thanks to the “grass” tweet, people started doing a deep dive into Kelly’s Twitter activity and it turns out he has a history of firing off some extremely strange thoughts about his daily life. For example, when he’s trying to get swole buying Muscle Milk at GNC, do not offer him the 10% off on Tuesdays deal. Greg Kelly hates that. He’s also the Newsmax anchor who aired an entire story on Joe Biden’s dog looking rough. Yup, he’s that guy.

Fortunately, an expert finally weighed in on Kelly’s grass tweet, and you won’t find a higher authority than this:

(Via Greg Kelly on Twitter)

Paddington, a very good bear, did something very bad today.

There I was, half-awake at 5 a.m. and trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes, when I saw a startling tweet from Paddington: “I don’t like marmalade anymore.” Gasp. I initially assumed it was from a parody account (like this one, which tweeted, “paddington bear has made an NFT (New Friend Today)”), but nope, it was from the official @paddingtonbear. How could he do this to us? Paddington’s love for marmalade is as pure as my love for him — it’s even right there in his bio, “Living in London, originally from Peru. Always keep a marmalade sandwich under your hat in case of emergencies.”

Then I remembered what day today is: the worst day on the internet, April Fools’ Day.

I am both relieved that it’s a prank and disappointed that Paddington would do something so naughty. I’m not saying send him back to prison, but…

Here’s the sort of lovely tweet I have come to expect from Mr. Bear: “It’s nice to see the sunshine and daffodils poking their heads above the soil. Welcome back.” And another: “I must remember to brush my teeth before bed.” And one more: “What shall I do this weekend? I could make some more marmalade or an orange drizzle cake. #BearProblems.” I’d normally say have both, but not after pulling such an evil prank.

Florence Pugh is going to be outraged.

Well, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) wanted a “Gaetzgate,” and he got one, alright. Even Fox News has come out in response to Gaetz suggesting that he might work with him with a big fat nope, and this happened after Tucker Carlson declared that he was astounded after talking with Gaetz while calling it “one of the weirdest interviews I’ve ever conducted.” And apparently, Tucker was also seriously angry with Gaetz too.

The subject in question, of course, was the New York Times report that detailed allegations of Gaetz having a relationship with a 17-year-old girl. There’s a federal Department of Justice investigation because Gaetz may have violated sex trafficking laws (he reportedly paid the girl to travel with him), and Gaetz was wildly claiming that he was being extorted by an ex-DOJ official for $25 million. And in the middle of the bizarre interview, Gaetz tried to drag Tucker under the bus by suggesting that Tucker had met Gaetz’s “friend” at a dinner. Tucker denied Gaetz’s attempt to link him to the scandal:

Gaetz: “You and I went to dinner about two years ago. Your wife was there, and I brought a friend of mine, you’ll remember her.”

Carlson: “I don’t remember the woman you are speaking of or the context at all, honestly.”

CNN is now reporting word from a source has revealed Tucker’s behind-the-scenes reaction: “It pissed him off.”

It’s a more than reasonable reaction for Carlson to have. Gaetz was attempting to legitimize whatever has happened and also suggested that Tucker had knowledge of something, and Tucker wasn’t about to get dragged into this hot mess. Rep. Ted Lieu has pointed out that this could eventually make Tucker a witness in the investigation, so yep, not wise, Gaetz. Of course, it’s hard to expect much at all from the lone lawmaker who voted against an anti-sex-trafficking bill in 2017.

You can re-watch the full Carlson-Gaetz interview below:

(Via CNN & Fox News)

Sharon Van Etten is releasing an anniversary reissue of her Epic album, titled Epic Ten, later this month. The rerelease also includes a collection of covers of the album’s tracks and Van Etten has been releasing a new one every Thursday leading up to the release. Today’s cover comes courtesy of Courtney Barnett and Vagabon, who teamed up for a rendition of “Don’t Do It.”

Ahead of the release, Van Etten shared a post about Barnett and wrote about the friendship they’ve enjoyed over the years: “Courtney Barnett has been an important musical influence on me since 2014, when we first met at The Neptune theater in Seattle. From the first time we met, I felt like I made an immediate friend. From performing together, to having home hangs in between tours, commiserating with the very specific mixed feelings of tour life assimilating back to home life and figuring out the in between as we have been learning how to nurture our domestic lives while paying attention to our creative selves outside of the album and touring cycle. I admire Courtney’s writing style in that she has such a unique and intimate narrative approach while being personal and funny, without giving too much away. I feel connected to her music and perspective, while always wanting to learn more — and as a friend she has offered me guidance and advice while also being an ear when I have been in a rut or when I am in need of a new approach to look at my writing in a new way.⁣”

Listen to Barnett and Vagabon’s cover of “Don’t Do It” above.

Epic Ten is out 4/16 via Ba Da Bing. Pre-order it here.

Songwriters are an invaluable part of the music industry, but some of them feel like they aren’t getting a fair deal. Now, a group of songwriters have formed The Pact and are calling on artists to drop demanding credit on and publishing rights of songs that they didn’t help write.

The group has shared a letter, which asserts:

“Over the last few years, there has been a growing number of artists that are demanding publishing on songs they did not write. These artists will go on to collect revenue from touring, merchandise, brand partnerships, and many other revenue streams, while the songwriters have only their publishing revenue as a means of income. This demand for publishing is often able to happen because the artist and/or their representation abuse leverage, use bully tactics and threats, and prey upon writers who may choose to give up some of their assets rather than lose the opportunity completely. Over time, this practice of artists taking publishing has become normalized; and until now, there has been no real unity within the songwriting community to fight back.”

It goes on to declare, “This body of songwriters will not give publishing or songwriting credit to anyone who did not create or change the lyric or melody or otherwise contribute to the composition without a reasonably equivalent/meaningful exchange for all the writers on the song.”

The Pact’s website has a list of artists involved and it includes Tayla Parx, Justin Tranter, Tobias Jesso Jr., Emily Warren, Toss Golan, Amy Allen, Lennon Stella, Shae Jacobs, Sam Harris, Deza, and Joel Little. The aforementioned artists have had a huge impact on the music industry in recent years, as they have collaborated with big names like Ariana Grande, Khalid, Normani, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Demi Lovato, Chloe x Halle, Janelle Monáe, Anderson .Paak, Megan Thee Stallion, Dua Lipa, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Lady Gaga, Kygo, Kacey Musgraves, John Legend, Maroon 5, Halsey, Cardi B, Imagine Dragons, Jonas Brothers, Sia, Adele, Shawn Mendes, Charlie Puth, Florence And The Machine, Haim, Niall Horan, King Princess, and Ellie Goulding. All those credits, by the way, are for just Parx, Tranter, and Jesso.

Read the full letter below and learn more about The Pact here.

“The beauty of the music industry is that it operates at its best as an ecosystem. Behind most songs, there is a story of collaboration. By the time of release, a song has been touched not just by the artist, but by songwriters, producers, mixers, engineers, record labels, publishers, managers and more.

Over the last few years, there has been a growing number of artists that are demanding publishing on songs they did not write. These artists will go on to collect revenue from touring, merchandise, brand partnerships, and many other revenue streams, while the songwriters have only their publishing revenue as a means of income. This demand for publishing is often able to happen because the artist and/or their representation abuse leverage, use bully tactics and threats, and prey upon writers who may choose to give up some of their assets rather than lose the opportunity completely. Over time, this practice of artists taking publishing has become normalized; and until now, there has been no real unity within the songwriting community to fight back.

That is why we have decided to join together, in support of each other, and make a change. What we are saying is this:

This body of songwriters will not give publishing or songwriting credit to anyone who did not create or change the lyric or melody or otherwise contribute to the composition without a reasonably equivalent/meaningful exchange for all the writers on the song.

To be clear – this action is being taken for two main purposes. First and foremost, we hope that this action will protect the future ‘us’, the next generation of songwriters — those who believe they have no leverage and no choice but to give up something that is rightly theirs. The second purpose is to shift the rhetoric and perspective surrounding the role of a songwriter. As songwriters, we are fully aware of the importance of the artist who goes on to perform and promote the songs we write, the role of the producer who takes the song to the finish line, and the role of the label that finances the project and plans for strategy and promotion. In light of that, we are not suggesting we dip into those revenue streams, we are not asking for something we don’t deserve. We are simply asking for that respect in return. We are simply asking that the ecosystem stay in balance; we are simply asking that we not be put in positions where we are forced to give up all we have in exchange for nothing; we are simply asking that we give credit where credit is due and only take credit where credit is earned.

If we take the song out of the music industry, there is no music industry. As of today, we will no longer accept being treated like we are at the bottom of the totem pole, or be bullied into thinking that we should be making sacrifices to sit at the table. We are all in this together, and we all need each other for this wheel to keep turning. So let’s start acting like it.

Sincerely,

The Pact”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

After getting through the “Major” news of the day (Joe Biden’s dog, Major, pooping on the floor of the White House), Jimmy Kimmel turned his attention to Matt Gaetz’s bad week. “Matt Gaetz is basically the shrimp tail in your Cinnamon Toast Crunch,” the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host said. “He is not well-liked by anyone. And he is reportedly being investigated by the Department of Justice. They’re looking into whether or not he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her travel across state lines, which becomes sex trafficking… He’s one of the worst of the worst. Even his fellow Republicans are reportedly celebrating this. But not only does Gaetz deny the charges, he tried to explain to Tucker Carlson last night that the real victim is him.”

Carlson called it “one of the weirdest interviews I’ve ever conducted,” and considering he “interviewed someone who claims Hillary Clinton was running a satanic pedophile operation out of a pizza place,” that’s saying a lot. “This interview was so all over the place you’d think Matt Gaetz owned a pillow company,” Kimmel joked. He later compared the interview to when “your college roommate shows up and meets your wife and starts saying things like, ‘Remember that time we had a threesome with that goat?’”

You can watch the Jimmy Kimmel Live! clip above.

After staying out of the public eye for more than a year, Lorde is making her way back to the spotlight. The singer spent much of 2020 to herself as she continues work on her upcoming third album. With that being said, she recently joined Marlon Williams onstage during a concert in Auckland, New Zealand. The performance came during Williams’ during run of New Zealand shows as a part of his current tour. Together him and Lorde delivered a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Tougher Than the Rest,” which can be found on The Boss’ 1987 album, Tunnel Of Love. The cover comes after Bruce Springsteen covered Lorde’s breakout hit, “Royals,” during a 2014 concert in New Zealand.

At the end of 2020, Lorde spoke about the upcoming project in a recent interview and revealed how a past trip to Antartica influenced the album’s yet-to-be-revealed title. “I actually decided on the album name right around that trip,” she said. “Just coming back from that trip I thought ‘this is what it is,’ which is not something that’s even close to being announced, and that in itself is a weird announcement. There is something so inspiring about it.” Lorde has also written a book about her trip called Going South.

You can watch the duo cover “Tougher Than the Rest” in the video above.