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On ‘Live Drugs Again,’ The War On Drugs Sound Bigger Than Ever

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Charlie Hardy

This week, The National and The War On Drugs commence a 19-date nationwide run of shows. It has been dubbed The Zen Diagram Tour, and I can only assume that the title refers to the commonly held belief that the same sort of person loves both The National and The War On Drugs. In this instance, that person happens to be me. Sure enough, I will be attending this tour in two weeks. I will be the flannel-shirted man with the salt and pepper beard. You won’t be able to miss me.

Incredibly, this is the first time these groups have toured together. But it is not the first time they have appeared on the same bill. That happened back in 2011 at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan and — would you believe it? — I was at that show as well. It was a fun night. I remember that we were all younger. I was much younger. A fresh-faced 34-year-old, the proverbial babe in the woods!

A few weeks before that gig, I moderated an interview between The National’s Aaron Dessner and The War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel and Dave Hartley that (I think) was the first substantive conversation between the musicians. I revisited the article this week for the first time in many years, and it was a fascinating time capsule. At the time, The National had ascended to “large theater headliner” status in the wake of 2010’s High Violet. And The War On Drugs made their first significant impression outside of their home base of Philadelphia with the release of their second full-length, Slave Ambient. One of the record’s biggest boosters was Dessner, who had requested a public audience with Granduciel and Hartley after listening obsessively to Slave Ambient for months. He was especially taken with what he termed TWOD’s “organic” experimentation, which he contrasted with his own band’s tendency to constantly tinker until the last possible moment before putting out music.

My favorite part of the interview happens near the end, when Dessner suggests — kind of “jokingly,” he says — that The War On Drugs could one day fill arenas. “I would be so happy if music as good as this could do that someday, because it has that kind of wide horizon to it. It doesn’t feel like it would be a struggle for it to communicate on that kind of level.”

What Dessner possibly didn’t know is that The War On Drugs had only recently come into their own as a live act. The fourpiece that toured in support of Slave Ambient formed the first steady core of the band, with Granduciel supported by fellow charter member Hartley and keyboardist/guitarist Robbie Bennett. (A few years later, for the Lost In The Dream tour, the “classic” lineup solidified with the additions of drummer Charlie Hall, guitarist Anthony LaMarca, and multi-instrumentalist Jon Natchez.) In the studio, Granduciel made a lot of Slave Ambient by himself, writing songs as he was recording them by meticulously assembling countless instrumental passages, samples, and overdubs. To Dessner, he admitted that “before the record came out, I wasn’t sure how we were going to play them.”

Dessner then pivoted to reminiscing about the upsides of being a tour opener. “I kind of love opening, because it’s easier and kind of just more fun to get up and play fast and furious and have a good time.”

Adam concurred. “You have, like, two hours afterwards to party and hang out.”

If only they knew that the “party and hang out” days were already behind them.

I thought about that bygone interview from the first Obama administration while listening to Live Drugs Again, the second concert album in four years from The War On Drugs, out Friday. It follows 2020’s Live Drugs, a stirring capstone for the Lost In The Dream and A Deeper Understanding eras that leaned into the grandest — what Dessner termed the “wide horizon” — aspects of their music. It was regal and imposing and smooth, like a monolith, an impression supported by the pitch-black cover. It felt like a record that should have been packaged inside of a deluxe double-CD jewel case and sold at Sam Goody for $18.99.

Like Live Drugs, Live Drugs Again is a Frankenstein version of a live record, with each track composed of stitched-together moments lifted from countless performances. (I suspect only Granduciel knows exactly the myriad sources from which each song derives.) This approach makes sense coming from a man who assembles music like the rest of us contemplate jigsaw puzzles. Though the purist in me objects to this approach, especially given the number of excellent intact War On Drugs bootlegs just waiting for a sonic upgrade. (The three-show “Drugscember To Remember” stand from 2022 immediately comes to mind.) While these shows aren’t as technically perfect as the growing Live Drugs franchise, they have a sense of narrative and vibe that the official concert releases can’t match.

Of course, when I put on Live Drugs Again, the purist in me is eventually drowned out. This is epic rock ‘n’ roll that manages to top even the titanic Live Drugs, if only because The War On Drugs are that much better as a live band. Yes, I could quibble with some of the song choices. (I, for one, would have replaced “Pain” — a repeat from Live Drugs — with the rousing cover of Bob Seger’s “Against The Wind” that highlighted many shows on this tour.) But how can I complain when this band clearly “let the cowboys ride” on their own songs in ways that often top their recorded takes?

Several tracks already feel like definitive versions. “Harmonia’s Dream” was a consistent highlight of the I Don’t Live Here Anymore tour, and Live Drugs Again honors that with an extended open in which a trance-inducing electronic pulse is augmented by infectious arena-rock audience clapping. The build in “Old Skin” to Hall’s dramatic entrance packs a wallop on the album, but live it has that extra E Street-esque oomph that really elevates the song. And then there’s “I Don’t Live Here Anymore,” which feels more and more like The War On Drugs’ finest anthem. On Live Drugs Again, we hear Granduciel honor his band in the intro, giving hype-man intros for each member and drawing out the last syllable in every name like he’s Paul Stanley addressing the unwashed hoards at Cobo Hall.

This sort of showmanship from the once-reticent leader of The War On Drugs is the most obvious departure point from the original Live Drugs. At some point during the I Don’t Live Here Anymore era, Granduciel embraced his inner rock star, drawing on the impassioned evangelism of perhaps his two most important influences, Bruce Springsteen and Mike Scott of The Waterboys. On “Burning” and “Under The Pressure,” he pushes his vocals like never before, practically shouting his way to new musical climaxes as his fellow bandmates aspire to maximum levels of heartland rock grandiosity. It’s no longer “Burning,” it’s now “Burninnnnng.” And “Under The Pressure” is gone, meet “Under The Preshhhhahhhhh!” (There’s also the matter of Granduciel’s always stellar guitar playing, which achieves peak shred-itude on the sultry “I Don’t Wanna Wait” and the welcome Slave Ambient deep cut, “Come To The City,” not to mention the obvious six-string showcase that is “Under The Pressure.”)

Putting out multiple live albums in relatively quick succession during an era when most bands wouldn’t think of putting out a single concert record says a lot about how The War On Drugs have evolved since that conversation with Aaron Dessner at the end of 2011. It reasserts the group identity that Granduciel pushed to the fore on the last studio record, as well as the importance of their live show as a calling card on nearly equal footing with their immaculate and deliberative studio work.

It also reiterates The War On Drugs’ relationship with hugeness. It differs from The National’s relationship with hugeness, which in recent years has manifested with Dessner’s entrée into the worlds of Taylor Swift and stadium pop. It’s hugeness as a form of celebrity and cultural capital. Granduciel has only fitfully flirted with that sort of hugeness, contributing guitar to records by Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus. Otherwise, his brand of hugeness is musical and spatial. As The War On Drugs’ audience grows, the music continues to expand ever-so-slightly beyond the confines of wherever they’re playing. When I saw them open for The National at the Beacon Theater 13 years ago, they were a small band who filled every square inch of the venue with guitar drones and synth swells. It was a wave of sound intended to overwhelm the senses, which it did.

Live Drugs Again feels like that, too. It’s the widest iteration yet of the “wide horizon” sound. The War On Drugs made the Beacon feel like a phone booth. And every time I’ve seen them since, they have given me the same feeling, whether it was a theater, an arena, or an open field. I look forward to seeing them push toward the next horizon.

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Charli XCX Isn’t Done With ‘Brat’ Yet As She Announces ‘Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat’

Earlier this month, Charli XCX said bye to Brat Summer. That doesn’t mean she’s done with her hit album Brat, though: Today (September 12), she released her new “Talk Talk” remix with Troye Sivan (and Dua Lipa) while also announcing Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat.

The new version of the album is a two-disc release, with the first featuring Charli’s recent remixes and the second mirroring the tracklist of Brat And It’s The Same But There’s Three More Songs So It’s Not.

Listen to the “Talk Talk” remix above. Find the Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat cover art and tracklist (which, based on some of the track titles, appears to be incomplete at the moment) below.

Charli XCX’s Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat Album Cover Artwork

Atlantic Records

Charli XCX’s Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat Tracklist

Disc 1
1. “360 Featuring Robyn & Yung Lean”
2. “Track Two”
3. “Track Three”
4. “Track Four”
5. “Talk Talk Featuring Troye Sivan”
6. “Von Dutch A.G. Cook Remix Featuring Addison Rae”
7. “Track Seven”
8. “Track Eight”
9. “Track Nine”
10. “Girl, So Confusing Featuring Lorde”
11. “Track Eleven”
12. “Track Twelve”
13. “Track Thirteen”
14. “Track Fourteen”
15. “Track Fifteen”
16. “Guess Featuring Billie Eilish”

Disc 2
1. “360”
2. “Club Classics”
3. “Sympathy Is A Knife”
4. “I Might Say Something Stupid”
5. “Talk Talk”
6. “Von Dutch”
7. “Everything Is Romantic”
8. “Rewind”
9. “So I”
10. “Girl, So Confusing”
11. “Apple”
12. “B2B”
13. “Mean Girls”
14. “I Think About It All The Time”
15. “365”
16. “Hello Goodbye”
17. “Guess”
18. “Spring Breakers”

Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat is out 10/11 via Atlantic. Find more information here.

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It Appears Kendrick Lamar Got The Artwork For His New Song From A Random eBay Listing

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If you thought Kendrick Lamar was done releasing music for the year, think again. Lamar released a new track, his first since “Not Like Us” settled his feud with Drake for good, on Wednesday night.

The song doesn’t have an official title (fans have taken to calling it “Watch The Party Die”), but Lamar uploaded the track to Instagram with artwork showing a pair of dirty Nike Air Force Ones. It didn’t take long for internet sleuths to track down where the image seemingly came from: an eBay listing for “Vintage Nike Air Force 1 ‘82’ Low ‘Black Black 315122-001 Men’s Size 12.”

The Nike Air Force Ones, the “universal symbol of true goon-like activity,” cost $70 (plus $9 in shipping) and were located in North Little Rock, Arkansas from seller Good2BYou. The past tense is intentional, because they sold to someone in area code 94118 (San Francisco) on Wednesday, September 11, the day the song dropped. It’s unknown who the buyer is, but they made a wise investment. Meanwhile, “Good2BYou” must be kicking themselves over how much they could have sold the shoes for now.

But why shoes? One theory is that it’s Lamar retaliation for Drake mocking shoe size on “Push Ups.” You can see the listing for yourself here.

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Troye Sivan And Charli XCX (And Dua Lipa) Have A ‘Talk Talk’ On Their Electric New ‘Brat’ Remix

Earlier this month, Charli XCX posted, “Goodbye forever Brat summer.” She meant that literally. Brat summer is over, but Charli XCX is not done with Brat.

On Thursday morning, September 12, Charli XCX announced Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat, a brand-new deluxe version of her ubiquitous June album. The project features a “Talk Talk” remix featuring Troye Sivan, and Dua Lipa makes a subtle but also still awesome appearance by speaking French and Spanish in the outro. It is scientifically impossible not to play this song on a loop.

Around the original release of “Talk Talk” in June, Charli XCX posted a TikTok explaining that the track was inspired by the early days of her romance with The 1975’s George Daniel, her fiancé.

Charli XCX and Troye Sivan will kick off their co-headlining Sweat tour at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan on Saturday, September 14. See all of their upcoming tour dates here.

Listen to “Talk Talk” featuring Troye Sivan above, and check out more about Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat below.

Charli XCX’s Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat Album Cover Artwork

Atlantic Records

Charli XCX’s Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat Tracklist

Disc 1

1. “360 Featuring Robyn & Yung Lean”
2. “Track Two”
3. “Track Three”
4. “Track Four”
5. “Talk Talk Featuring Troye Sivan”
6. “Von Dutch A.G. Cook Remix Featuring Addison Rae”
7. “Track Seven”
8. “Track Eight”
9. “Track Nine”
10. “Girl, So Confusing Featuring Lorde”
11. “Track Eleven”
12. “Track Twelve”
13. “Track Thirteen”
14. “Track Fourteen”
15. “Track Fifteen”
16. “Guess Featuring Billie Eilish”

Disc 2

1. “360”
2. “Club Classics”
3. “Sympathy Is A Knife”
4. “I Might Say Something Stupid”
5. “Talk Talk”
6. “Von Dutch”
7. “Everything Is Romantic”
8. “Rewind”
9. “So I”
10. “Girl, So Confusing”
11. “Apple”
12. “B2B”
13. “Mean Girls”
14. “I Think About It All The Time”
15. “365”
16. “Hello Goodbye”
17. “Guess”
18. “Spring Breakers”

Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat is out 10/11 via Atlantic. Find more information here.

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Taylor Swift Fans Want To Believe Her MTV VMAs Dress Was A Reference To ‘The X-Files’

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Taylor Swift treated the 2024 MTV VMAs like one of her shows, minus any actual performances. But there were multiple costume changes: the “Fortnight” singer showed up wearing a Reputation-y dress from Christian Dior’s 2025 resort collection before changing into what Swift style expert Sarah Chapelle described as a “custom Monse look inspired by the Fall/Winter 2024 collection.” Which is a fancy way of saying: it looks like The X-Files.

The dress, which had a beaded UFO spaceship on the front, could have been a reference to her rumored next single, “Down Bad” (“Did you really beam me up? / In a cloud of sparkling dust”). But some fans are convincing themselves that it was her sly way of acknowledging Fox’s science-fiction series The X-Files premiering 31 years ago yesterday. 31… 13… it’s all adding up.

I want to believe (and it does kind of look like Mulder’s office poster).

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“Taylor. I am straight up getting X-Files vibes from this dress,” one X user wrote, while another added, “taylor swift wearing an alien themed dress a day after the x-files anniversary means that she will be singing one of the songs in the reboot. there are signs for those who seek them.” The facts are indisputable: “Somehow missed this despite being one of my fave shows ever. 31 years ago yesterday we were given ‘Pilot’ for The X-Files. 31 years later Taylor Swift has been riding a roomba with a UFO backdrop & today wore a sequined ‘I want to believe’ dress. Ergo, Taylor is an X-Files fan.”

While accepting the award for Video Of The Year, Swift thanked her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end (and burgeoning actor) Travis Kelce, for his support. “This video seems very sad when you watch it, but it actually was like the most fun video to make,” she said. “Something that I’ll always remember is that when, when I would finish a take, and I’d and I’d say cut, and we’d be done with that take, I would always just hear someone cheering from across the studio where we were shooting it, and that one person was my boyfriend, Travis.” Swift added, “Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic, so I want to thank him for adding that to our shoot.”

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Jon Bon Jovi Just Helped Talk A Woman Off The Edge Of A Bridge In Nashville

Jon Bon Jovi found himself in the right place at the right time earlier this week: On September 10, the singer (and Millie Bobby Brown’s father-in-law, apparently) helped talked a woman off the edge of the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department shared a security video of the situation on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “A shout out to @jonbonjovi & his team for helping a woman on the Seigenthaler Ped Bridge Tue night. Bon Jovi helped persuade her to come off the ledge over the Cumberland River to safety.” The tweet also includes a quote from Nashville Police Chief John Drake: “It takes all of us to help keep each other safe.”

As Billboard notes, Bon Jovi was filming a music video nearby at the time. The security footage shows Bon Jovi and another person approach the woman, who was standing on the opposite side of the guard rail, facing away from it and holding onto it behind her. After some conversation, the woman turned around, and Bon Jovi and the other person helped the woman over the guard rail. Bon Jovi then hughed the woman as they and the other person walked down the bridge. Police confirmed the woman was taken to receive mental health care later.

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Here Is Linkin Park’s ‘From Zero World Tour’ Setlist

Mike Shinoda Linkin Park 2024
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After adding Emily Armstrong and Colin Brittain to the lineup, Linkin Park is back.

They just played the first show of their From Zero World Tour yesterday (September 11), so we have a setlist (via setlist.fm). As expected, it draws largely from the band’s classic era, as songs from Hybrid Theory and Meteora took up over a third of the 27-song setlist.

Shinoda previously said of Armstrong and Brittain, “The more we worked with Emily and Colin, the more we enjoyed their world-class talents, their company, and the things we created. We feel really empowered with this new lineup and the vibrant and energized new music we’ve made together. We’re weaving together the sonic touchpoints we’ve been known for and still exploring new ones.”

Check out the setlist below, along with Linkin Park’s upcoming tour dates.

Linkin Park’s From Zero World Tour Setlist

1. “Somewhere I Belong”
2. “Crawling”
3. “Lying From You”
4. “Points Of Authority”
5. “New Divide”
6. “The Emptiness Machine”
7. “The Catalyst”
8. “Burn It Down”
9. “Waiting For The End”
10. “Castle Of Glass”
11. “Joe Hahn Solo”
12. “When They Come For Me / Remember The Name”
13. “Lost In The Echo”
14. “Given Up”
15. “One Step Closer”
16. “Lost”
17. “Breaking The Habit”
18. “What I’ve Done”
19. “Leave Out All The Rest”
20. “My December”
21. “Friendly Fire”
22. “Numb”
23. “In The End”
24. “Faint”
25. “Papercut” (encore)
26. “Keys To The Kingdom” (encore)
27. “Bleed It Out” (encore)

Linkin Park’s 2024 Tour Dates: From Zero World Tour

09/16 — New York, NY @ Barclays Center
09/22 — Hamburg, Germany @ Barclays Arena
09/24 — London, UK @ The O2
09/28 — Seoul, South Korea @ INSPIRE Arena
11/11 — Bogota, Colombia @ Coliseo Medplus

From Zero is out 11/15 via Warner Records. Find more information here.

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Taylor Swift Gushed About Travis Kelce And Encouraged People To Vote During Her 2024 MTV VMAs Video Of The Year Speech?

taylor swift travis kelce Celebrities Attend The 2024 US Open Tennis Championships - Day 14
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Big week for Taylor Swift. Then again, isn’t that true of every week when you’re Taylor Swift? Swift officially endorsed Kamala Harris for the upcoming US Presidential election, and 24 hours later, she endorsed Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce, her boyfriend of a year-plus, while accepting Video Of The Year at the 2024 MTV VMAs on Wednesday night, September 11.

Swift won alongside Post Malone for their “Fortnight” video. The song also claimed Best Collaboration, Best Direction, Best Editing, and Song Of The Summer. During her speech, Swift listed “all of the people” with whom she made the video, including “my boyfriend, Travis.”

“The thing is that this video seems very sad when you watch it, but it actually was like the most fun video to make,” Swift said. “Something that I’ll always remember is that when I would finish a take and I’d say “cut” and we’d be done with that take, I would always just hear someone like cheering, like, “Woo!” from across the studio where we were shooting it. And that one person was my boyfriend, Travis.”

The crowd erupted in shrill cheers and shrieking.

Swift continued, “Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic, so I want to thank him for adding that to our shoot because I’ll always remember that.” She pivoted away from the world’s favorite romance to also encourage all of her fans over the age of 18 to “please register to vote for something else that’s very important coming up.”

Outside of “Fortnight,” Swift won Artist Of The Year and Best Pop. Her six victories this year brought her all-time VMAs total to an all-time-most 30. As per Variety, Swift surpassed Beyoncé’s previous record 25 VMAs, and Swift became the first artist to win Video Of The Year five times.

Watch Swift’s speech here.

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LL Cool J Gave The 2024 VMAs Crowd A Hip-Hop History Lesson With His Medley Performance

The official Hip-Hop 50 celebration may have wrapped up last year, but LL kept the hip-hop history lesson going at the 2024 MTV VMAs. His medley performance not only included songs from his newly released fourteenth studio album, The FORCE, but also encompassed many of his signature hits going back to his glory days in hip-hop’s Golden Age. Opening with “Headsprung” (remixed with the now-familiar Mohawks sample, “The Champ,” rather than its original Timbaland-produced beat) then transforming into Public Enemy’s “Bring The Noise” (with a surprise appearance from Chuck D himself), the veteran performer also went through “Rock The Bells” before hitting newer songs like “Passion” and “Proclivities” before returning to another classic: “Doin’ It.” You can watch the full performance above.

Ironically, LL’s performance was nearly upstaged during a shot of the audience featuring a woman standing motionless, staring at the stage, and grinning in such an eerie way, that it seems almost certain that she was an actor planted to promote the upcoming horror thriller Smile 2. Unfortunately, though, LL didn’t perform “Murdergram Deux,” his collaboration with Eminem, who also performed tonight to open the VMAs, but probably did leave before LL’s performance.

You can still check out a full list of VMA winners here.

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Chappell Roan Shouted Out ‘Queer And Trans People Who Fuel Pop’ While Accepting Best New Artist At The 2024 MTV VMAs

RuPaul’s Drag Race icon and drag performer Sasha Colby introduced Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” performance at the 2024 MTV VMAs on Wednesday night, September 11, and Roan repaid the favor later in the show.

Roan won Best New Artist and read her acceptance speech straight from her diary. After thanking MTV, Island Records, family, and friends, Roan said, “I dedicate this to all the drag artists who inspire me, and I dedicate this to queer and trans people who fuel pop. To the gays who dedicate my songs to someone they love or hate, and thank you to the people who are fans who listen to me — who hear me when I share my joy and my fears. Thank you for listening to me.”

Roan continued, “And for all the queer kids in the Midwest watching right now, I see you, I understand you, because I’m one of you. And don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t be exactly who you wanna be, b*tch.”

Roan was also nominated for Best Trending Video (“Hot To Go!”), Song Of The Summer (“Good Luck, Babe!”), and Performance Of The Year (“Red Wine Supernova”).

Watch Roan’s acceptance speech here, and watch her “Good Luck, Babe!” performance above.