In 2011, writer Denis Johnson published a novella, Train Dreams. Set in the early 1900s, it tells the story of a railroad laborer and the ups and downs of his life journey. It’s a story that caught Hollywood’s eye, as a film adaptation is coming to Netflix soon.
Clint Bentley is on board, directing his second feature film following 2021’s Jockey. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Greg Kwedar, reuniting with his Jockey and Sing Sing collaborator (they earned an Oscar nomination for the latter screenplay).
Ahead of the movie’s release, keep reading for everything you need to know before it comes to streaming.
Plot
An official description reads, “Based on Denis Johnson’s beloved novella, Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier, a logger and railroad worker who leads a life of unexpected depth and beauty in the rapidly-changing America of the early 20th Century.”
“I had an interesting history with the novella. It was gifted to me on the tail end of another film that I’d worked on and I remember reading it and being similarly taken with the book enough to enquire about the rights myself, only to realize, like most things, somebody already has the rights. But the filmmaker part of me was really curious about this being made into a film. So when these guys contacted me, it felt like some kind of strange kismet or fate. I remember thinking, ‘Does somebody know the inside of my brain enough to know that I was obsessed with this book?’ It felt so awesome and strange that they were asking me to do that… I’m more comfortable going to set in wilderness than I am in an office. And I think, knowing myself well enough as an actor by now, there is a certain aspect to me that I think really suits the character in this film.”
Cast
The cast is led by Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Clifton Collins Jr., Kerry Condon, William H. Macy, and Paul Schneider. Will Patton also voices the narrator, a fitting choice considering he read the audiobook of the original novella.
Bentley described the most memorable scene to shoot, saying, “I think it would have to be the first scene we shot. We were filming in a beautiful cabin we had built on location in eastern Washington, and Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones were just starting to bring their characters to life. What was scripted as a simple dialogue-free moment naturally grew into a full scene, and suddenly the approach we were all trying to make work–blending scripted scenes with organically found moments — seemed not only possible, but that it might yield something truly beautiful.”
Music
The film features an original score from The National’s Bryce Dessner. The soundtrack also includes “Train Dreams,” an original song by Dessner and Nick Cave.
“Bryce is such an open and generous artist. This is our second film together and with Train Dreams, there was a lot of back and forth throughout the edit as he sent over different ideas and threads he was working on based on the footage and the script. It really helped shape the rhythm and the feeling of the film and lifted it to a whole new place. His music is transcendent.”
Release Date
The film is set to hit select theaters on November 7, followed by its Netflix premiere on November 21.
Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out tour rolled into Los Angeles on Saturday night, and they commemorated the occasion by bringing out one of Angel City’s hometown heroes to share the stage with them at The Novo.
As they performed their Kendrick Lamar collaboration “Chains & Whips,” the stage lights darkened, and K. Dot himself appeared to rap his fan-favorite verse as the audience cheered for the Pulitzer Prize winner’s surprise appearance.
After the song ended, Kendrick told the crowd, “This is our home city, it’s such a privilege to be in front of motherf*cking legends, man. I’m going to be out there watching with you all, these are my motherf*cking people.”
You can check out video of the performance here, here, or here.
Clipse’s current tour revolves around their recently released album, Let God Sort Em Out. It’s the duo’s first full-length release since 2009’s ‘Til The Casket Drops, reuniting the brothers as a group for the first time since then. Its singles include “Ace Trumpets,” “So Be It,” and “Chains & Whips.”
In addition, the duo appears in the video for Tyler The Creator’s Don’t Tap The Glass single, “Stop Playing With Me,” returning the favor for his verse on “P.O.V.” Clipse also feature on JID’s new album God Does Like Ugly.
Since Ozzy Osbourne’s passing last month, I have been listening to Black Sabbath. A lot of Black Sabbath. So much Black Sabbath that I sometimes find myself speaking with a tritone-style modulation. Okay, maybe not that much Black Sabbath. But my recent spin through their catalog has confirmed a simple truth.
Sabbath rules.
Black Sabbath was about more than just Ozzy. All the band members were essential: Tony Iommi, the dark prince of guitar riffs and a two-fisted ladies man; Geezer Butler, the mild-mannered bassist and master lyricist; and Bill Ward, the easy-going and hard-drinking drummer. (There is also Ronnie James Dio, Ozzy’s temporary replacement and elfin-sized “devil’s horns” gesture originator. More on him later.) But Ozzy was the star of the show. And he was perfectly suited for fronting this band. In any other context, his voice might have registered as unexceptional. In some ways, it was unexceptional — flat, trebly, and with limited range. But in the ways that actually matter, Ozzy was a magnificent frontman. In Sabbath, that singular howl cut through the bottom-heavy murk of the music with conviction, with Ozzy displaying a unique talent for embodying the lyrics he was delivering, like a method actor, no matter how extreme or silly the words got.
Black Sabbath is one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and the finest metal group. It is time to pay them their tribute. Gather the generals in their masses, just like witches at black masses, because it’s time to count down my favorite Black Sabbath songs of all time.
PRE-LIST ENTERTAINMENT: “ARE YOU HIGH? SO AM I!”
It’s early August 1975, and our heroes are in Asbury Park. It’s the Sabotage tour. Born To Run is set to drop later in the month, but for now Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, and Bill are the kings of the Jersey turnpike. “Hole In The Sky” is the opening track from the album they’re hawking, and it’s the second song in the set. The band sounds enormous. And enormously intoxicated. No one more than the singer, who screams at the gathering throngs, “Are you high? So am I!” It’s a rhetorical question. Anyone in the vicinity who is not high is either a cop or dead from an overdose.
The Asbury Park ’75 bootleg captures what I love most about Sabbath at this point in my life — they’re the ultimate party band. You put them on when you want to feel as high as a pioneering English metal musician standing on stage during the heart of the Gerald Ford administration. You put them on when your brain is engulfed with enough endorphins to make all 20 minutes and 23 seconds of the live “Sabbra Cadabra” tolerable, if not downright enjoyable. (An extended Bill Ward drum solo? Sounds awesome, man.) That’s the role Black Sabbath plays in your life if you’re a fan: They make you feel happy. And if you already feel happy, they make you feel stupid-happy.
But that’s not how I came to Black Sabbath. In the beginning, Black Sabbath did not make me feel good. Black Sabbath scared the bejesus out of me. I was 13 when I discovered Paranoid in my older brother’s Case Logic CD carrier. On the cover, there was a man bathed in infrared pink walking through a pitch-black forest holding a sword. It was glowing, like a light saber. The image was so cheesy that it doubled back around to being frightening. (It’s the Child’s Play Chuckie doll of album covers.) Then I read the song titles and things got really sinister: “War Pigs.” “Electric Funeral.” “Hand Of Doom.” “Rat Salad.” “Rat Salad”? My god.
This was 1990, so it was the prime of the “Satanic Panic” era in American suburbs. The devil was still real, and if you were a kid, he was someone you suddenly wanted to chase. Or, rather, be chased by, like the hellhounds that once pursued Robert Johnson. It was also the moment when my tape collection was composed mainly of Paula Abdul and Milli Vanilli albums. I desperately needed some Mephistopheles in my life. So, it was an ideal time to discover Sabbath, a band you could believe in as a genuinely malevolent force because you couldn’t Google search your way to a more credible explanation. The teenaged desire to seek out Edgy Entertainment fortified their diabolically romantic appeal. Sabbath were bad-asses, and their bad-assery (theoretically) transferred to the listener.
My son just turned 13, and his version of Sabbath is Eminem, who pushed different boundaries of taste and decorum but who nonetheless endures as outlaw music for middle-schoolers. Ozzy sang about being finished with his woman because she couldn’t help him with his mind, and Eminem rapped about murdering his girlfriend. The continuum, for now, goes on. Though I wonder what the current version of Edgy Entertainment is. What 2020s act will teenagers in 2045 seek out to feel a little more dangerous than they really are? Or has that sector of show business, once an essential part of youth culture, been outmoded? Have all outrages already been outraged? Is the devil’s music just party jams now?
I know the big black shape with eyes of fire is still out there. Hopefully, we can find him together over the next several thousand words.
30. “Hole In The Sky” (1975)
Repeating “Hole In The Sky” twice at the top of this column feels like bad list-making. As a list-making professional, I worry that it evinces an embarrassing lack of craft. In any other context, I would have avoided the redundancy. But this is Black Sabbath we’re talking about. At the start of their discography, as we all know, Black Sabbath put “Black Sabbath” on the album Black Sabbath, a triple redundancy. So, if anything, my double redundancy shows “Planet Caravan”-level restraint.
I also put “Hole In The Sky” here because I want to get my most controversial Sabbath opinion out there immediately: I don’t think Sabotage should be included among the Ozzy-era classics. The first five records are so good that a reasonable person can make a case for any one of them being Sabbath’s best. The self-titled debut invented the metal template. Paranoid perfected it. Master Of Reality is their most influential LP, particularly on hard rock, punk, grunge, and metal’s “stoner” wing. Vol. 4 is the most fun (and my personal favorite). And Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is their most artistically ambitious.
Sabotage, meanwhile, is better than the two Ozzy records that come after, but it’s not as good as the five before. (Ozzy agreed with me on this count. As he later told biographer Mick Wall, “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was our final record, as far as I was concerned.”) Sabotage sounds like Sabbath Bloody Sabbath as made by men who have finally been crippled by their prodigious, years-long substance abuse. In Ozzy’s case, this led to a newfound love for wearing kimonos on album covers, a definite red flag signaling his cocaine consumption had gotten out of control. (Tony Iommi shaving his mustache also seems like a decision made under the influence.)
The songs just don’t hit as hard as they should. “Symptoms Of The Universe” is Iommi-by-numbers, “Am I Going Insane (Radio)” isn’t crazy enough, and “Supertzar” spontaneously invented Spinal Tap. But “Hole In The Sky,” obviously, rocks. Especially when you hear it twice.
29. “Who Are You?” (1973)
After Ozzy died, I saw several people on social media make the case that Black Sabbath is more influential than The Beatles. There are two obvious problems with this argument. No. 1: if you have to frame it as “[Band X] is more influential than The Beatles,” you have already conceded that The Beatles are the benchmark for rock bands and automatically disqualified your point. (The same is true when people argue “[Songwriter X] is better than Bob Dylan.”) No. 2: The Beatles are a foundational influence… on Black Sabbath. Ozzy’s fandom of the Fab Four was well-established, given that he spoke openly about it on numerous occasions. (He also gushed like a schoolgirl on The Ed Sullivan Show when he finally met Paul McCartney in the aughts.) Geezer Butler also enthuses about The Beatles throughout his entertaining 2024 memoir Into The Void, pointing to the mellow instrumentals scattered throughout Sabbath records as their attempt to emulate the Beatles’ eclecticism.
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is where Sabbath’s Beatles worship becomes overt, particularly on side two, where a pair of relatively conventional-sounding Sabbath tracks, “Killing Yourself To Live” and “Spiral Architect,” sandwich two batty and shockingly credible psych-pop songs. I’m giving “Who Are You?” a slight edge over the appealingly melodic “Looking For You,” just because those ELO-like synth squiggles make it a true outlier in Sabbath’s catalog.
28. “Never Say Die” (1978)
A popular Sabbath talking point is their terrible standing with music critics in the 1970s. Their approval rating in the press was as unanimously negative back then as it is unanimously positive now. Though some critics came around sooner than others: Lester Bangs wrote the pan of the debut for Rolling Stone (which closed with the memorable kicker “just like Cream! But worse!”) but as we all know, he ended up just a few years later assigning a Sabbath concert review to young William Miller in Almost Famous. (As a non-master of reality, I might be confusing fiction with real life here.)
Almost all the once-panned Sabbath records (from the Ozzy era, anyway) have been critically rehabbed. All except Never Say Die!. That’s the one nobody feels bad about slagging. The band hates it, and most fans hate it. But I… kind of like it? Never Say Die! is part of the subgenre of late ’70s albums by aging stadium-rock bands that are reacting to punk in real time. Some Girls by The Rolling Stones is the classic of the form, followed by Animals by Pink Floyd and The Game by Queen. Never Say Die! is way down the list, past In Through The Out Door by Led Zeppelin and whatever Yes was doing around then. But the title track is an undeniable ripper that moves at a Sex Pistols pace.
27. “Neon Knights” (1980)
Never Say Die! was Ozzy’s final Sabbath studio record before reconvening for 2013’s Rick Rubin-produced swan song 13, a record I will not be mentioning again in this column. There’s a famous story about how Ozzy was discovered one day passed out in a recording studio, laying in a pool of his own urine. And that was the final straw that led to his sacking. (If this is untrue, please keep it to yourself.)
I had a brief debate with myself over whether to include any Ronnie James Dio-era songs on this list. I already knew that I wasn’t going to delve past at least 1981, even though I kind of like 1992’s “reunion with Dio” record Dehumanizer. (Apologies to Tony Martin, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, and a battery of other short-term Sabbath vocalists I don’t have time to list here.) But given the proximity to Ozzy’s passing, I wondered whether I should keep this Ozzy-centric. But my affection for Heaven And Hell and 1981’s Mob Rules eventually won out. There’s a (small but significant) segment of Sabbath fans who even prefer those records to the Ozzy ones. When they separated, Sabbath and Ozzy both suddenly became a lot more metal-sounding than they had been together, due to their new collaborators. (Dio has the quintessential “’80s metal-sounding” voice and Randy Rhodes was the quintessential “’80s metal-sounding” guitarist.) So, how you feel about the Dio era is related to whether you view Black Sabbath primarily as a hard rock band or a metal one. (For example: Quintessential “’80s metal-sounding” disc jockey Eddie Trunk, in the 2022 Dio documentary Dreamers Never Die, calls Heaven And Hell his favorite Sabbath album.) For me, I lean on the “hard rock” side of the equation, though I can’t deny the majesty of “Neon Knights.”
26. “Heaven And Hell” (1980)
I didn’t get into Dio-era Sabbath until my 20s, after years of kneejerk dismissals of the band’s post-Ozzy work. And this was due entirely to the evangelism of Jack Black, who featured Dio prominently in the extremely okay 2006 film Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny. And then I heard “Heaven And Hell” and realized that it was the song that Black and Kyle Gass were ironically rewriting over and over in their act.
25. “Sign Of The Southern Cross” (1981)
And here is the song where Sabbath themselves unironically (and quite effectively!) rewrite “Heaven And Hell.” A source of tension at this time was Dio’s insistence that he write the lyrics, rather than the band’s usual lyricist, the vegetarian philosopher Geezer Butler. (He’s the Morrissey of the group.) Dio isn’t necessarily a better writer than Butler, whose lyrics are the most underrated aspect of Sabbath’s most iconic work. (Particularly since a lot of people think that Ozzy wrote them.) But Dio is a better writer for Dio, whose operatic pipes were designed to bellow lines like, “Then the beast is meant to wander / But never is seen around!”
24. “Lord Of This World” (1971)
A key difference between Dio-era Sabbath and the Ozzy era relates to the blues. Sabbath got their start as a blues band cycling through the usual Black American standards, just like all the other great British rock bands of the time. But unlike their semi-friendly rivals in Led Zeppelin, they didn’t do straight-forward replications of the blues once they started writing originals. Zeppelin would do “You Shook Me” and exaggerate all the usual tropes — the sleazy 12-bar stomp, the vocal wailing, the sexualized guitar riffage — in the most hyperbolic fashion imaginable. Sabbath, meanwhile, internalized the music; They took the dark vibe of the blues without exactly playing the blues. Whereas Jimmy Page extrapolated blues-rock into a quasi-parody of extreme bombast, focusing mainly on the ecstatic highs, Tony Iommi stayed in the muck and wallowed in the bottom end of John Lee Hooker’s voodoo shuffles. On “Lord Of This World,” it sounds like he’s trying to play even slower and lower than the blues greats he grew up covering.
23. “The Wizard” (1970)
The closest Sabbath came to playing actual blues on a studio record, though Ozzy’s supremely sloppy harmonica honking suggests he was ready to move on from Muddy Waters already. That part was later sampled by Cypress Hill for 1993’s “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That,” one of several tracks that connected Black Sabbath to rap’s storied stoner lineage.
22. “Supernaut” (1972)
In the continuum of ’70s metal innovators, Zeppelin was the relatively classy band and Sabbath was the one whose tapes you could buy at truck stops. At least that was the case in the ’90s when I started listening to them. I first heard Zeppelin via that lavish (for the time, anyway) box set with the crop circles on the cover. Meanwhile, I still have my cassette copy of the first Black Sabbath record, a bargain-priced, off-brand pressing that looks like it was manufactured illegally and sold from the back of a station wagon. This dichotomy works in the favor of both bands and reflects their respective sensibilities. They’re both people’s bands, but Sabbath will always be populist in the least fashionable ways.
The bands got together once in the mid-’70s, with all band members present save for Jimmy Page. And the song they jammed on was “Supernaut” from Vol. 4, apparently John Bonham’s favorite Sabbath track. Unfortunately, the tapes were chopped up with a credit card and forcibly inhaled by the players.
21. “The Mob Rules” (1981)
The first (accidental) anti-cancel culture thinkpiece. “You’ve nothing to say / They’re breaking away / If you listen to fools / The mob rules.” I think Ronnie James Dio was actually singing about 17th century witch trials, or something. But if Bari Weiss has a favorite Sabbath song, I’m sure it is this one.
20. “After Forever” (1971)
About that big black shape: “After Forever” is one of the witchiest tracks in the Sabbath catalog, given the connection to the “Son Of Sam” killings in the ’70s. David Berkowitz loved the song and recited the lyrics as he murdered eight people in New York City. Which is strange since, on the page, “After Forever” reads like a Christian rock hymn. “Perhaps you’ll think before you say / ‘God is dead and gone’ / Open your eyes, just realize / That He is the one.” If he had paid closer attention, Berkowitz might have taught Sunday School rather than turn to serial killing. (Or maybe he just would have read more rock criticism.) Thankfully, Tony Iommi’s fat guitar riff is way less complicated and easier to understand.
19. “Children Of The Grave” (1971)
In his memoir, Geezer Butler constantly laments Sabbath’s image as blood-drinking Satanist marauders. As the band’s most prolific lyricist, he’s particularly sensitive about constantly being misunderstood. (“After Forever” is actually about the troubles in Northern Ireland, he insists.) The problem is that Sabbath looks and sounds evil, even when they are being earnest or even idealistic. The vast majority of listeners were too blotto to notice the difference. On Master Of Reality, they doubled down on the heaviness of the first two records by down-tuning their guitars, a move that changed marijuana-centric music forever. On “Children Of The Grave,” Iommi and Butler lock into a furious gallop that nods to the past (namely the biblical four horsemen of the apocalypse) and the future (the non-biblical Iron Maiden).
18. “Killing Yourself To Live” (1973)
Another song ripe for misinterpretation. In this case, parents and extremely stoned teenagers might assume it is about suicide, as neither party was capable of focusing on more than two words in any Sabbath track. But “Killing Yourself To Live” is actually about the burnout the band was experiencing at the time — this was the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath era, after all, the so-called “last” definitive album — as well as a more general lament about the toll of constant drinking and drugging. Once again, Sabbath is stealthily pious. It’s like if AC/DC wrote a song about the virtues of sexual abstinence.
17. “Changes” (1972)
Speaking of Eminem: He sampled this song on 2010’s Recovery, for the creatively titled track “Going Through Changes.” Em’s song is about addiction and grief (over his recently murdered friend Proof), whereas “Changes” is a more straightforward break-up song with a wicked Mellotron lick that sounds like pawn-shop Moody Blues. It makes sense that it would be a touchstone track for multiple eras of middle-school outlaw music, as I’ve always heard “Changes” as a lament about the tortures of puberty. Which is why during our next father/son talk, I plan on playing side one of Vol. 4.
16. “Hand Of Doom” (1970)
Paranoid came out the year after “Fortunate Son,” the CCR song that has appeared in approximately 87 Vietnam movies. In 1970, John Fogerty followed up with another Vietnam song, “Run Through The Jungle.” But by then, Sabbath — who I would argue is the British CCR, at least on the first two records — had assumed the mantle of rock’s premier war-time correspondents, with “War Pigs” (which we’ll get to) and this glowering number about veterans dealing with PTSD by shooting heroin. “Hand Of Doom” was way ahead of the curve on that one, in terms of what people were willing to acknowledge about America’s misadventures in Vietnam. Morley Safer had nothing on Geezer Butler on that count.
15. “Wheels Of Confusion/The Straightener” (1972)
Vol. 4 is my favorite Sabbath album — partly for the music, and partly for the lore. It is Sabbath’s Exile On Main St., only instead of staying in the south of France, they were holed up in an LA mansion owned by a soon-to-be convicted murderer who later became the subject of the 2014 film Foxcatcher.
That’s not even in the top 10 of crazy things that happened during the making of Vol. 4. Here’s a story I like: The band had a dealer who would deliver cocaine in washing detergent boxes. There was so much blow that word got out around town to other rock stars like Pete Townshend and the members of Deep Purple, who flocked to the Sabbath house. And when Tony Iommi got super high, he would try to frighten the guests by wearing a sheet over his head.
The thing about Vol. 4 is that it doesn’t really sound like a coked-up record. Even “The Straightener” coda to “Wheels Of Confusion,” which kicks the mid-tempo dinosaur pace up a few notches, still sounds sludgy in supreme Sabbath-like fashion. Though you can also detect some slackness in the rhythm section that enhances the feeling of intoxicating decadence.
14. “Tomorrow’s Dream” (1972)
Here’s another story I love from the Vol. 4 sessions, as related by Ozzy in a 2004 Rolling Stone interview: “One night, me and Bill were fucking drunk and taking a piss together. I see this aerosol can and squirt his dick with it. He starts screaming and falls down. I look at the can and it says, WARNING: DO NOT SPRAY ON SKIN — HIGHLY TOXIC. I poisoned Bill through his dick!”
It’s truly a miracle that “Tomorrow’s Dream” exists at all, much less rocks as hard as it does.
13. “Behind The Wall Of Sleep” (1970)
I have a soft spot for Bill Ward, and not only because Ozzy almost poisoned him through his dick that one time. In his book, Butler describes Ward as Sabbath’s “fall guy,” a laidback chap who became a magnet for abuse in a band loaded with alphas. (It’s doubtful that Ozzy would spray aerosol on any part of Tony Iommi, a notorious tough guy.) In later years, he was kept out of Sabbath reunions, with Ozzy claiming he was “incredibly overweight” and unfit to play with the band. While I’m sure he’s not blameless, Bill Ward strikes me as Sabbath’s Charlie Brown figure, the sad sack born to lose.
Which is crazy to consider when you listen to him play. A fan of jazz cats like Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, Ward is credited with making Sabbath swing like no other metal band, starting with those sweet drum breaks on “Behind The Wall Of Sleep.”
12. “N.I.B.” (1970)
On the first Black Sabbath album, “Behind The Wall Of Sleep” is connected to “N.I.B.” with “Bassically,” a brief Geezer Butler instrumental with a Primus-ass title. Because I hear the songs together in my mind, I have to put them next to each other here, with “N.I.B.” getting the slight edge because it’s a love song sung from Lucifer’s perspective. (A formula not replicated until every love song performed by Robin Thicke.)
11. “Electric Funeral” (1970)
More Bill Ward greatness. When he locked in with Butler, he made Sabbath groove in shockingly nimble ways, navigating songs through tricky time signature changes on a dime. On “Electric Funeral,” the rhythm section barrels forward like a nuclear bomb through plywood.
10. “Paranoid” (1970)
The first generation of rock critics hated Sabbath because they rightly recognized that Sabbath was the first post-’60s band and, in a way, the first post-boomer one. They might have been influenced by The Beatles, but they rejected the ideology and iconography associated with that band. They weren’t self-righteous, they didn’t pay lip service to callow hippie slogans, and they weren’t middle-class capitalists. Sabbath actively critiqued those values. And their popularity confirmed that the prevailing generation had suddenly turned old before their time.
But more than that, Black Sabbath was the first rock band that didn’t care whether you thought they were smart. They didn’t promote the ways they were actually smart, and they didn’t downplay the ways that they actually weren’t smart. Case in point: When Geezer Butler wrote the words for “Paranoid” — he did it quickly, just as Iommi swiftly came up with the music, because they needed one more track to round out the record — Ozzy admitted that he didn’t know what “paranoid” meant. But he sang it anyway because he thought the word sounded cool. There was no shame in this ignorance. And it didn’t prevent him from grasping the emotional meaning of the term as he was delivering it.
Therefore: “Paranoid” is smart on a deep level (because it perfectly encapsulates the effects of anxiety on one’s mental state), and it’s smart on a superficial level (because it taught millions of people a new word).
9. “Sabbra Cadabra” (1973)
What’s sad about Sabbath’s early critical drubbing is that it was internalized by the band members. It took them a while to realize how beloved they are. Case in point: It’s 1986 and Ozzy is on tour with Metallica. He walks by their dressing room and notices they’re playing old-school Sabbath. And he gets pissed. He assumes the upstart opening act is making fun of him. The next time he walks by the dressing room he hears Sabbath again. And he gets even more pissed off. Finally, he says something to his assistant. “He said, ‘What the fuck are you talking about? They think Sabbath and you are gods!” Ozzy recalled. “It was genuinely one of the very first times I realized that people actually liked Black Sabbath.”
It’s not clear what Sabbath music Metallica was playing at the time. But I assume it was this song, Sabbath’s proggiest track. Metallica later covered it, though they were missing the uber-trippy Minimoog licks from none other than fellow “rock god” Rick Wakeman.
8. “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” (1973)
When Ozzy died, I wrote a short post about how I think Ozzy “set a template for modern rock singers,” especially compared with contemporaries like Robert Plant and Roger Daltrey. “Ozzy’s influence wasn’t musical, it was attitudinal. He was the first rock god who was also just a guy. He once, famously, worked in a slaughterhouse and he made no attempt to disguise that fact. Instead, he leaned into it. He made it part of his onstage persona. When you hear Ozzy sing, what you hear is his toughness, his naturalness, his audio vérité intensity. All the things that grounded even the silliest Black Sabbath songs.”
You can even hear that “audio vérité intensity” on “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” which is Sabbath at their most Zeppelinesque. But the grandness doesn’t get in the way of Ozzy’s “slaughterhouse worker” realness — check out the way he howls, “Fill your head all full of lies, you bastards!”
7. “Jack The Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots” (1970)
The “Jack The Stripper” section sounds like Van Halen eight years before the first Van Halen record, with a few classic Bill Ward drum fills thrown in for good measure. After that, it’s the greatest rock song of all time about beating the shit out of skinheads, a timeless sentiment that’s extra timely now.
6. “Sweet Leaf” (1971)
Their greatest contribution to hip-hop culture. I refer, of course, to “Rhymin’ And Stealin,” which finally married the opposing poles of metal’s foundational roots, pairing the “Sweet Leaf” riff with John Bonham’s immortal drum break from Zeppelin’s “When The Levee Breaks.” For nü-metal, this is the equivalent of the “monkeys touching the monolith” scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey. (Which means the first Korn record is like that jump cut from the bone to the space ship.)
5. “Snowblind” (1972)
For any other band, “Sweet Leaf” would also qualify as the all-time best contribution to the “drug song” canon. But with Sabbath, it only earns the silver medal. The gold goes to “Snowblind,” which rocks slightly harder while also being even less lyrically subtle. Bold claims, I know, given that crushing “Sweet Leaf” riff and the literal coughing that opens the song. But the “Snowblind” riff is even more enormous, while the euphemistically “powdery” title is underlined several times by someone whispering “cocaine” in the pre-chorus. If you want to make a moral case, “Sweet Leaf” encouraged millions of kids to toke up, while “Snowblind,” ostensibly, is a cautionary tale, with Ozzy going on about “icicles within my brain.” Though Black Sabbath telling kids to not take drugs in 1973 is like… Black Sabbath telling kids to not take drugs in 1973. (There isn’t a metaphor ridiculous enough to make the point.)
4. “Iron Man” (1970)
From here on out, the use of words to explain Sabbath feels inappropriate. I should only be using sounds, like “na” and “da.” Or, in the case of “Iron Man,” na na na-na-na, da da da da da da da da da-da-da-da.”
3. “Into The Void” (1971)
Regardless, I’ll use a few more words: I think this is Tony Iommi’s second-greatest guitar riff. I know he has already been well compensated for his efforts. I imagine him living in some castle on a remote English isle, stirring a mysterious brew inside a fiery cauldron while a winged creature of some sort sits perched on his leather-jacketed shoulder. But he really should have been paid a royalty for every band that built a career on extrapolating the depths of “Into The Void.” There are so many bands that sound like this song! It is the ultimate example of Tony plumbing the blues in order to go beyond it, venturing heavier and deeper and then, finally, more metallic. Listening to “Into The Void,” you can imagine that the devil sold his soul to Tony Iommi.
2. “War Pigs” (1970)
The best anti-war song of the rock era not written by Bob Dylan. Some days, I think it might even be better than “Masters Of War.” (If only Geezer hadn’t rhymed “masses” with “masses.”) Though “War Pigs” sounds to me more like a sequel — the bluntness of the title picks up where the end of “Masters Of War” leaves off. While Bob pledged to stand over the graves of war mongers until he’s sure they’re dead, Black Sabbath dig up the bodies and do unspeakable things to the corpses. Ozzy’s “audio vérité intensity” is on full display, though I must also shout out, once again, the rhythm section, for Geezer’s stinging lyrics and fluid bass and Bill Ward’s pummeling drum rolls, which hit like mortar fire in the jungle.
1. “Black Sabbath” (1970)
There’s no other choice but to respect the almighty tritone. Failure to do so will imperil you to the big black shape.
This was only the second song they ever wrote (after “Wicked World”), and it’s impossible to think of a better example of a band nailing what it is they are destined to do so early and so completely. Tony’s guitar part, we all know, set the sonic blueprint for a whole genre. Geezer doubled the riff and made it heavier, and Bill’s playing marked the first time that a rock drummer could be suitably described as “cinematic.” And then this is our man Ozzy, who not only delivers an incredible, chilling vocal, but he also wrote the lyrics (extemporaneously, apparently). Never have the words “ohhhhhh nooooooo!” carried so much weight. This was where he introduced himself to the world as a method singer, favoring raw emotion and naturalistic phrasing over the theatrical posturing of typical rock frontmen. “Black Sabbath” is Ozzy’s Rebel Without A Cause, with a deranged Last House On The Left twist. He might be gone now, but this song makes him immortal.
Marriage became a touchy topic at a recent Coldplay concert, the one where the viral CEO affair fiasco happened. At a more recent concert, though, Coldplay was on the other side of matrimony.
Fan-shot footage shows a man in the crowd holding a sign, reading, “I want to propose,” with an arrow pointing down at the woman standing in front of him. Chris Martin acknowledges it and says, “OK, now listen. My brother, I need you to nod as I do some basic security checks, OK? Is this person your partner? Yes? No one else’s partner?” The man nodded affirmatively and Martin continued, “Are you cousins or siblings, or anything weird like that? Are you AI? Are you real people? Okay, then I think we can continue.”
Martin then sang a little ditty: “My beautiful brother, here is some advice for free. As we all look on and see you go down, I advise you to get down on one knee.”
Sure enough, the man proposed, it was warmly received, and the couple confirmed it with a kiss. Martin then said, “Congratulations, my brother and my sister. What a beautiful girl. What a wonderful guy. On a day like this, I encourage you to kiss. I hope you’re happy until the day that you die.”
Check out the video here and find Coldplay’s upcoming tour dates below.
Coldplay’s 2025 Tour Dates: Music Of The Spheres World Tour
08/26 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
08/27 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
08/30 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
08/31 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
09/03 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
09/04 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
09/07 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
09/08 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
Oasis launched their hotly anticipated Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour in their native UK back in early July. Nearly two months later, Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, and company have finally hit North American shores.
Oasis began the run of US, Canadian, and Mexican dates in Toronto this weekend. They have kept the setlist consistent throughout the tour so far and so far, that hasn’t changed for North America (per setlist.fm). It pulls largely from the albums (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? and Definitely Maybe and ends with quite the four-song encore of “The Masterplan,” “Don’t Look Back In Anger,” “Wonderwall,” and “Champagne Supernova.”
Check out the setlist below, along with the band’s upcoming tour dates. The group has also launched fan stores in North America, so take a closer look at that here.
Oasis’ Oasis Live ’25 Tour Setlist For North America
1. “Hello”
2. “Acquiesce”
3. “Morning Glory”
4. “Some Might Say”
5. “Bring It On Down”
6. “Cigarettes & Alcohol”
7. “Fade Away”
8. “Supersonic”
9. “Roll With It”
10. “Talk Tonight”
11. “Half The World Away”
12. “Little By Little”
13. “D’You Know What I Mean?”
14. “Stand By Me”
15. “Cast No Shadow”
16. “Slide Away”
17. “Whatever”
18. “Live Forever”
19. “Rock ‘N’ Roll Star”
20. “The Masterplan” (encore)
21. “Don’t Look Back In Anger” (encore)
22. “Wonderwall” (encore)
23. “Champagne Supernova” (encore)
Oasis’ 2025 Tour Dates: Oasis Live ’25
08/25 — Toronto, ON @ Rogers Stadium
08/28 — Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field
08/31 — East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
09/01 — East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
09/06 — Los Angeles, CA @ Rose Bowl Stadium
09/07 — Los Angeles, CA @ Rose Bowl Stadium
09/12 — Mexico City, MX @ Estadio GNP Seguros
09/13 — Mexico City, MX @ Estadio GNP Seguros
09/27 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
09/28 — London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
10/31 — Melbourne, Australia @ Marvel Stadium
11/01 — Melbourne, Australia @ Marvel Stadium
11/04 — Melbourne, Australia @ Marvel Stadium
11/07 — Sydney, Australia @ Accor Stadium
11/08 — Sydney, Australia @ Accor Stadium
11/15 — Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Estadio River Plate
11/16 — Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Estadio River Plate
11/19 — Santiago, Chile @ Estadio Nacional
11/22 — São Paulo, Brazil @ Estadio MorumBIS
11/23 — São Paulo, Brazil @ Estadio MorumBIS
Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet. This week is one of the single strongest of the year, while it’s another short list (at this point we’re used to it), what is here is absolute gold. At Nike the Air Max 95 is getting the SB treatment, the Total 90 is returning in a new luxurious colorway, the Kobe 3 Protro Halo is getting a tech-focused refresh and if all that wasn’t enough, the legendary Shattered Backboard Jordan 1 is returning. If you were so lucky as to cop all of those shoes, it would run you nearly a grand, so in terms of pure dollar value, no one is as hot as Nike right now.
Outside of the Swoosh, Adidas is holding its own with a new Adimule, and the New Balance is going stealthy with its latest 1906R colorway. There is a lot of heat to get through, so let’s just dive into the best sneakers out right now. Happy hunting!
The SB Air Max 95 takes the iconic shape and design we all know and love, but builds it out with tougher, skate-ready materials, offering an elevated take on an icon. The Summit White and Cactus Flower sports a suede and leather upper, flexible materials for board flexibility and feel, and a herringbone lugged outsole for a locked-in feel. The colorway features a black to white gradient, bright burgundy hits through the airbag and on the eyelets and tongue, and a gum outsole, for that classic SB look.
There is a lot to love here, whether you need the skate functionality or not.
The Nike SB Air Max 95 Summit White and Cactus Flower is set to drop on August 22nd at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $185. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
This year brought the Total 90 back into Nike’s roster, 25 years after its first debut. This sneaker, built with the soccer field in mind, sports a snakeskin leather upper, a rare medium-sized swoosh, and a snakeskin-like texture that gives it a luxury look. To make the sneaker street-ready, Nike ditched the cleats in favor of a flat rubber sole. Here is to hoping some of Nike’s other sports-exclusive sneakers get this special treatment.
This week’s Pale Ivory and Black is a Women’s exclusive, which feels incredibly cruel to those of us who have big feet. Hopefully this sells well so we get a wider release.
The Nike Women’s Total 90 Pale Ivory and Black is set to drop on August 22nd at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $125. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.
The Jordan 1 Shattered Backboard is the stuff of legends. We named it one of the AJ-1’s all-time greatest colorways, so if you’re looking to own a piece of footwear history, you’re going to want to snag a pair. Just be prepared to go against just about every other hardcore Jordan fan, because this is a grail through and through.
The sneaker sports a tumbled leather upper, black panels, an orange heel, outsole, and toe box, and a fresh white base.
The Air Jordan 1 High OG Shattered Backboard is set to drop on August 23rd at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $185. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.
Two grails in one week? Looks like August is set to dunk on July’s output! The Kobe 3 Protro Halo sports a design lifted from 2007 and infused with breathable mesh, tongue padding, a full-length Air Zoom strobel, and Nike’s plush CushIon 3.0 for a better energy return and a bouncy feel. Something we love about the Kobe Protro models is how they balance functionality and fashion perfectly.
The Nike Kobe 3 Protro Halo is set to drop on August 23rd at 8:00 AM PST for a retail price of $210. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.
We might be running through August at lightning fast speed (at least it feels that way on our end) and school might be back in session but that doesn’t mean the summer spirit has to end. What says summer more than slipping into a pair of foot-hugging, cork-supported Adimules? Adidas answer to Birkenstocks, the Adimule sports a super smooth leather upper, a cork midsole, a rubber outsole, and a plush suede foot bed. It’s one part luxury, one part comfort.
Adidas knocked it out of the park with this one.
The Adidas Women’s Adimule is set to drop on August 22nd at 12:00 AM PST for a retail price of $100. Pick up a pair at Adidas.
New Balance 1906R Black with Dark Silver Metallic and Black Cement
“Stealthy” is not a word we often use to describe New Balance. The brand loves to live in grey tones and muted pastels, which is why this all-black 1906R came as a bit of a surprise to us. The sneakers sport an open mesh upper with synthetic overlays, with lightweight ACTEVA LITE midsole cushioning with arch support, and ABZORB cushioning in the heel.
The build is classic New Balance — but the color feels fresh and a bit edgier than what we’re used to from the brand.
The New Balance 1906R Black with Dark Silver Metallic and Black Cement is out now for a retail price of $154.99. Pick up a pair at New Balance.
Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.
Park Chan-wook is one of the most iconic directors to ever come out of South Korea. 2003’s Oldboy is considered by many to be a masterpiece and Park has continued to garner acclaim since then. Soon, he will return with No Other Choice, the third movie he’s directed in the past decade, following 2016’s The Handmaiden and 2022’s Decision To Leave.
No Other Choice is a Korean production, but at least one of its stars should be recognizable to US viewers: Lee Byung-hun, who has carved out an American acting career for himself and portrayed the big Squid Game villain, the Front Man. He also had a voice role in the recent Netflix mega-hit KPop Demon Hunters.
Ahead of the film’s release, keep reading for everything you need to know before it hits theaters.
Plot
An official synopsis reads, “When a man is abruptly laid off by the paper company where he has worked tirelessly for many years, he grows increasingly desperate in his hunt.”
At a press event, Son Ye-jin spoke about how a recent life change helped prepare her for her role, saying, “This was my first project after giving birth. It helped me. I think the real-life experience is incomparable to anything else, and my appearance with the child felt natural. […] It’s the image of a positive mother who wants to take responsibility for her family. So it was easy to immerse myself in the role.”
Cast
The movie is led by Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, Cha Seung-won, and Yoo Yeon-seok.
At the aforementioned press event, Son discussed her chemistry with Lee Byung-hun, saying, “The chemistry on set was so good that it felt like the scenes ended too quickly, making me feel sad that it was over.” Lee added, “I felt the same way. I had only seen Ye-jin’s works before, and this was the first time we collaborated. She performed with such detail, even more than I had imagined for [her character, Lee Miri].”
The Uproxx Music Festival And Tour Preview series is sponsored by Priceline, where music fans can find deals on flights, hotels, and more.
Contrary to popular belief, art is not the product of an artist’s labor — it’s the process. Singers like Summer Walker are never “finished” with their craft; we, the listeners, are just blessed with the artifacts of her practice. This applies to the people who help her bring her visions to life as well. In this case, it’s the designers and directors of See You Later, the Los Angeles-based production studio currently in charge of Summer’s set on Chris Brown’s Breezy Bowl Tour (they also helped put together Doechii’s star-making Grammys set earlier this year).
Darrius Medina, the studio’s co-founder and stage designer for this tour, teamed up with Creative Director Harriet Cuddeford and Summer’s personal director, Lacey Duke, to tap into Walker’s tastes and ambitions. Together, they gave Walker’s fans a glimpse into both her artistic process and the process of finding love (even if it means leaving the planet to do so).
Inspired by a diverse array of influences, from retro-futuristic Instagram pages to cult films like Barbarella and the classic Austin Powers, See You Later shared their own creative processes with Uproxx.
How did your company get involved with Summer Walker, and what was your goal with this particular presentation?
Darrius: Yeah, we got involved with Summer Walker through her label, LVRN. They manage her and are her label as well. They reached out to us, and we worked with them.
Harriet: We talked with Summer and her team, including Lacey Duke, who is Summer’s personal director, and figured out what she’s trying to say. So, for this, it was very much about her exploring the idea of the search for love, and it was about the concept of how the search for love on Earth for some of us is really hard. Imagine if that then became intergalactic. Just this fun idea of, okay, we’re done with the men on Earth, so who else is out there in the galaxy?
It was really, really fun. Summer has such a great sense of humor and is very tongue-in-cheek, so it was that kind of theme. She really loved this Instagram called Chaos Dreamland, which is this very kitsch, cute retro-future world. Summer really wanted to inhabit that aesthetic.
Harriet, can you explain to readers what the show director is?
Harriet: Show direction and creative direction are very, very intertwined. Some people like to tease those apart, but I think really, it’s about working with the artist on the very initial conception of what this is. What are you saying? What is this about? And then building that into a show. So you’re covering everything. You probably make initial mood boards, right? You work with the artist, bringing numerous references and various directions to explore one main idea. You go back and forth, refining the aesthetic.
Then you work with designers across stage lighting and video content. You work with special effects, a choreographer, and a stylist. You, with the entire team, start from this place, build this vision with the artist, and then you take that outward and work with all those different departments to keep them really building toward one vision.
Darrius, can you please break down what people don’t know about stage design? Because I think some people think you just are out there making the promo poster or whatever in the background, and it’s like, “No, buddy, I got to keep people alive.”
Darrius: In general, our goal is to create a canvas for the artist and build this world, including production elements and props. But a big part of that is not only the stage, but also lighting, video, staging, how people get on and off stage, and how things pack up. Things are being transported on trailers and semi-trucks and need to travel across the country. We also need to worry about changeover times.
For these shows that we’ve been doing, we’ve only had about 30 minutes to get everything on stage and even less time to get everything off, so it becomes our experience in the practicality of things, like, okay, what is too much? And I think for us, the fun thing is: how much can we put on stage to really push the limit of what’s the most we can do? So that becomes a fun challenge, figuring that out.
What’s something you learned about Summer Walker in the process of putting this show together that you didn’t know before or that you think that other people would be surprised to learn?
Darrius: One thing is that she is very goofy and funny. I didn’t realize that, and she cares a lot. So that was a fun thing to find out and work on with her.
Harriet: Yeah, I think that she’s so fun. I didn’t realize that. She’s so… In England, you say “cheeky” — a bit naughty in the most fun way — and she pushes stuff. Do you know what we can talk about? We had this reference that we love, which was initially from Barbarella, but then Austin Powers did it — the spark boobs.
So we made all these visuals with Lacey, directed these beautiful visuals for her where we filmed Summer with it, and then in post, we added all the sparks, and it was a really powerful visual. She’s like 20 feet tall on the screen with these sparkling boobs. But then, when we were doing Wireless in London, Summer was like, “I want to do it for real.”
She worked with her stylist, and they designed the sparkling bra. We did all these tests. It was so much fun figuring out how to do it, but she really pushed for it. She wanted to go there. She wanted to have all the showmanship, do the most, and I really respect that. It’s so fun and exciting to work with an artist who really cares, is really engaged, and just wants to push it.
Very cool. You guys do your fair share of interviews. You may get bored hearing the same questions repeatedly. Has there ever been a question that you were like, “Ask me this, ask me this, ask me this,” and then nobody ever did? And if so, what is it?
Darrius: “Why do we do what we do?” I don’t think I’ve ever gotten that question before. Like, what inspires us to do what we do? And the answer for me is I like creating something that makes people feel something, and at least being part of it. We’re not front and center; the people in the audience don’t know who we are. Half the time, they think the show runs on its own or that it’s one person doing the whole thing, or there is a computer that’s just autoplaying visuals and stuff.
It takes someone who really loves this to put in as much time and effort as we do. Being able to create something and see people respond to these moments that we create and that we think are going to be cool? When we see it in clips online, it’s like, okay, cool. People love that moment just like we did. So being a part of that experience is very gratifying, and that’s why I love it.
Harriet, how about yourself?
Harriet: A question that pertains to how someone gets into this job or how this job even exists. I would say it’s a very weird job. Like Darrius is saying, so many people don’t even know that it’s a job, and I just feel like I would love for more people to understand that it’s a job. I was going to concerts since I was 12, and I was obsessed with it. I didn’t know, honestly, until I was, I think, in my twenties, that it was a job and that you could do that. I wish I’d known when I was 15 or much younger that this is a thing that you can do. If you also find music to be a transcendental experience and something so important, even if you don’t play or want to be an artist, you can be involved in helping to bring that to millions of people and bring millions of people joy in this way where you support an artist.
The Uproxx Music Festival And Tour Preview series is sponsored by Priceline, where music fans can find deals on flights, hotels, and more.
Lollapalooza may have cemented itself as Chicago’s all-encompassing, world-beating music festival. That said, later this month, the Windy City will stake its claim to something completely different: the center of the stadium rock universe. While Lollapalooza has all but discarded its rock roots, this stretch of events within the confines of a mile on Lake Michigan proves that rock is more than alive and well.
Rewind for a second. A few weeks ago, Live Nation released data that surprised some but not all. There, it revealed that rock shows, specifically of the heavier variety (think masked ritual rockers Sleep Token, arena headliners Bring Me the Horizon, and rising hardcore heroes Turnstile), are at the root of the growth in live music. Specifically, it points to a 14% increase in attendance this year, with metal attributed to 13% of all arena and stadium concerts. Even at a time when tentpole tours with Beyoncé and the Kendrick Lamar/SZA joint jaunt captured the headlines for their multi-night, sold-out stands, modern and classic bands have seen a surge in interest.
Chicago has always been a haven for rock music. Hell, look at the area’s recent surge in indie rock bands breaking through, like Dehd, Horsegirl, and Brigitte Calls Me Baby. That’s not to mention other rising bands like Lifeguard. Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the scene’s longtime mainstream north stars Smashing Pumpkins, indie faves Pavement, and industrial hellraisers Ministry.
Is it 1998 or even 2008 again for rock fans? That remains to be seen. But what is undeniable is the nostalgic appeal of what rock was and the mythical nature of these bands and their legacies.
With all that in mind, beginning on August 27th, here are the five major rock shows, mostly from corners of the genre’s universe, that are landing in Chicago to prove that the desire to see rock bands is alive and well.
Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, August 27, Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Neil Young has long been a rock shapeshifter. Over his nearly 60 years performing, he has seen his various creative whims take his listeners all across the spectrum of rock, as both a solo artist and with support from backing bands (most famously Crazy Horse, but also including Promise of the Real, the Stray Gators, CSN, and Pearl Jam). As the only group here with new material (Talkin’ to the Trees was released on June 13), Young and his latest band, the Chrome Hearts, are playing their first show in Chicago on August 27. As with anything Young has done, his live show has been restless and uncompromising, featuring songs across his vast catalog that will leave both his Boomer fans and those of the younger variety pleased to see the now 79-year-old rocker showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Oasis, August 28, Soldier Field
Easily the most-talked-about reunion in many, many years, Liam and Noel Gallagher are kicking off the U.S. leg of their tour (they play in Toronto on August 24 and 25) in Chicago at Soldier Field. For the first time, the Gallaghers are playing U.S. stadiums — and selling them out instantly. It’s fitting (and a total coincidence) that they’re playing the night after Young (on the 2000 live album Familiar to Millions, they covered “Hey Hey, My My”) and kicking off the first of four nights at the home of the Chicago Bears. Judging by the way they rounded into form in the U.K. to a universally rapturous response that made folks forget everything that happened with them from 1998-2009, expect Oasis to play with a chip on their shoulder. With a set full of hits and beloved fan favorites, there’s no doubt that the well-oiled machine will roll into Chicago and get the reaction they’ve always craved from American audiences. Cage the Elephant is opening.
My Chemical Romance, August 29, Soldier Field
While the Oasis reunion has captured many hearts and minds while leaning into the band’s glory days, emo titans My Chemical Romance have undoubtedly provided the blueprint for this type of success. Reuniting before the pandemic, the New Jersey natives have never been bigger. My Chem is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their landmark album, The Black Parade, by playing that album in full. They’re also working in a slew of their other hits, assorted tracks, and surprise covers (look no further than the surprise cover of “Livin’ on a Prayer” at MetLife Stadium). My Chem continues to be a touring juggernaut despite only releasing a few stray songs over the past decade or so. If that’s not enough, the quintet tapped new-wave oddballs Devo to open, which should introduce them to an audience that should appreciate their theatrics.
The Lumineers, August 30, Soldier Field
In a sense, the timing for the Lumineers, one of the most unheralded bands of the past decade, to make their Soldier Field debut couldn’t be better. Over the past few weeks, the whole “stomp clap hey” movement that marked the beginning of their career has trended on social media (for good reasons and bad). That has inadvertently brought the band back to the forefront.
The Lumineers have been playing stadiums for a few years now, with their accessible brand of easygoing indie folk continuing to gain steam. While some may scoff, the Lumineers are everywhere, and even if you aren’t familiar, you’ve very likely heard a song of theirs. To ensure every date feels different, the band enlisted none other than St. Vincent and Lake Street Dive to open.
System of a Down/Avenged Sevenfold, August 31-September 1, Soldier Field
If, for some reason, you thought it might be quiet at Soldier Field during those previous dates, get ready for things to go to 11 to cap off Labor Day weekend and this incredible run of big-league rock shows in Chicago. System of a Down and Avenged Sevenfold will bring the noise to Chicago with two sold-out shows. Despite the relatively prolific solo shows from System’s members, the band has only released two new songs in 20 years. Still, they remain a live music juggernaut and are bigger than ever. Go figure. With their distinctive brand of metal, Avenged Sevenfold is the perfect co-headliner. The band continues to tour on the strength of their fervent fan base and the back of 2023’s well-received Life Is But a Dream…
Rising shoegaze-influenced songwriter Wisp and prog rockers Polyphia will open the action-packed bill, which will leave your ears buzzing from open to close.
Where to Stay:
Chicago Hilton: Located just across Grant Park on S. Michigan Ave., this enormous hotel isn’t just convenient; it’s also a famed Chicago landmark! Remember the 1993 film The Fugitive? Its final scenes were shot at this location. So channel your inner Harrison Ford (and Tommy Lee Jones) at this hotel, walking distance from Soldier Field.
Le Méridien Essex Chicago: Also on S. Michigan Ave but a bit further north, this luxury hotel will give you the elegance and comfort to kick back in ahead of — or after — you’re done rockin’ out. With its espresso machines, 55″ Smart TVs, and high-speed Wi-Fi, you’ll be able to get your work done (if you’re working) in a fantastic atmosphere without having to rush over to the show.
Where to Eat:
Little Branch Cafe: There are plenty of food options within blocks of Grant Park. But with its reliable menu that mixes staples like burgers and paninis with tasty beverages, there’s a little bit of everything here that’s a hop, skip, and a jump away from the venues.
Flo & Santos: When in Chicago, one must indulge in pizza, right? Thankfully, this fine establishment offers Chicago thin-crust pizza instead of the deep-dish options that are more like a casserole. Anyway, if you’re not in the mood for pizza, there are plenty of options, including pierogies, wings, and a killer bar scene.
Half Sour: Grabbing a sandwich to chomp on, either in Grant Park or on the way to the show, is always a safe option. This deli, which is slightly north and west of the area, is the perfect place to grab quality food at a great price.
After returning to the spotlight last month with his new single “Have A Baby (With Me),” Daniel Caesar has announced the release date of his new album along with its second single.
Son Of Spergy will be released on October 24th via Republic Records. Meanwhile, Caesar’s latest single, “Call On Me,” is built around a grungy guitar and Caesar’s falsetto. It takes a bolder direction than prior works, assuring a romantic interest that they can call on him when they need or want anything. “Whenever you feel your tummy rumble / Need something to eat,” he croons. “Whenever you feel your pockets empty / You can call on me.”
Before sharing “Have A Baby (With Me)” and “Call On Me,” Caesar appeared on two other artists’ projects this year, with very different vibes. In February, he teamed up with Rex Orange County for two singles, “Rearrange My World” and “There’s A Field.” Then, it was announced that he’d appear on Dev Hynes’ latest Blood Orange project, Essex Honey — which was unsurprising, considering Hynes provided his songwriting prowess on the Rex OC songs. Caesar also appeared on Justin Bieber’s SWAG, reuniting the “Peaches” collaborators.
You can listen to Daniel Caesar’s “Call On Me” above.
Son Of Spergy is out on 10/24 via Republic Records. You can find more info here.
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