Heading out to Mala Luna might not have been the greatest experience of my life, but it sure did teach me a thing or two about surviving the Dust Bowl pt. II
Last month, Morrissey announced his upcoming album/new working autobiography title, Low in High School. High off of a slew of concert cancellations in support of 2014's flop, World Peace is None of Your Business, Morrissey's new album will reportedly explore the "zeitgeist of an ever-changing world." Low in High School features tracks with distinctly Morrissey-esque titles such as "Home is a Question Mark" and "When You Open Your Legs," and earlier this week, we were treated to a look at its lead single, "Spent the Day in Bed." It's essentially an anti-capitalist defense of inaction and alienation, featuring some inexplicable DJ scratching and too many synths. Give it a listen below:
An undisclosed number of the yellow vinyl release of Beyonce's Lemonade were accidentally pressed with the A-side of Canadian punk band Zex's latest album, Uphill Battle. Unfortunately, the mistake was not noticed until many excited Bey fans had already received their orders and were treated to delightful tunes like "Burn the Flag" and "Child Soldier" where "Hold Up" should have been. Magic Bullet Records has confirmed the legitimacy of the mispressed albums, while Beyonce has yet to comment. If the incongruity of Ramones-esqe punk playing on lemon-yellow vinyl gets you going, we have footage of the happy accident below:
Today is a big day in the world of album releases, with new additions from the Foo Fighters, Cool Kids, and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend hitting the airwaves all at once. Yet one album in particular merits a special kind of artistic attention that can only be garnered by synth-pop master Ariel Pink: Dedicated to Bobby Jameson.
The warm hi-fi familiarity of Dedicated to Bobby Jameson is a refreshing departure from the wacky, weird, and unabashed theatricality of 2014's Pom Pom. Pink's compositions are intimate, sharp, simple, and as close to understated as haze pop dreams can get. The closest Pink comes to the manic cheer of “White Freckles” and “Dinosaur Carebears” is during the aptly-named “Bubblegum Dreams,” but even then it’s broken up by jarring metallic percussion straight out of the most recent Alien movie, followed by disquieting moments of silence.
Olmos Park may have lost a local favorite last week, but Whataburger is here to dry your tears with no less than 1,000 taquito wrappers.
That’s right: Whataburger is offering one lucky fast food buff the chance to win $1,000 dollars to donate to the charity of his or her choice, with the taquitos to match it (don’t worry, the taquitos are yours to keep.)
To enter, follow @WhataburgerLife on Snapchat on Snapchat, and send them a video detailing what exactly how you will disperse your taquito cash. The winner will be announced next Wednesday, September 20th, via the company’s social media accounts. It is unclear as of yet whether the taquitos will be rationed out to the winner or dispensed all at once.
This week in music history is shaping up to be one of eternal return, of the reunion show variety and otherwise. Bob Dylan has announced U.S. dates for his decades-long continuation of the aptly-named Never Ending Tour this fall. The closest date to San Antonio appears to be on October 21st in Colorado, but, given the recent death rate of iconic musicians the world over, it might be worth making the drive to see the man who introduced weed to the Beatles play live. Mavis Staples is opening, so you could really kill the aging musicians in concert thing with one stone.
Additionally, once-beloved UK new wave group The The have announced their first live shows in 16 years. Frontman Matt Johnson, the last original member, has brought his auxiliary group back together for two summer shows at Denmark's Esgeskov Castle and London's Royal Albert Hall. Riding on the wave of their surprise Record Store Day Single, "We Can't Stop What's Coming," The The will also be releasing a box set and retrospective documentary, titled The Inertia Visions, this October. Watch the trailer below:
Halloween and pumpkin spice lattes aside, October 2017 is already shaping up to be a noteworthy month in the world of music. Mala Luna Festival, taking place this year on October 28th and 29th at Nelson Wolff Stadium, has released limited time back-to-school 2-day general admission tickets for the low, low price of $109. Headliners include Future, Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, and Migos. Tickets and more information are available here.
Additionally, Angel Deradoorian announced her new mini-album yesterday, Eternal Recurrence. The album will be her first solo release since 2015's The Expanding Flower Planet. Eternal Recurrence is scheduled to drop on October 6th, but you can listen to its first single, "Mountainside," below.
While the rest of the nation watched disaster news or long-awaited fantasy incest, a small faction of teenagers and loyal top 40 fans turned their tvs last night to the 2017 Video Music Awards. Aside from the obvious question--why is this still a thing?--I present to you a more pressing concern: Taylor Swift and her baffling, neo-goth, revenge-posturing single, “Look What You Made Me Do.”
Despite being widely panned by critics and fans alike, the music video release of “Look What You Made Me Do” was easily the most-anticipated moment of this year’s VMA’s. The video reminds me of when Lady Gaga first started making dark, weird-CGI music videos a la “Bad Romance,” and everyone followed suit. It features, among other things, a “Thriller”-esque rise from the grave, T-Swift angrily biting fancy jewelry, and a meme-worthy scene in which all the various iterations of Swift’s music career argue in front of a flaming Boeing 747. Throughout, we are treated to thinly-veiled references to Swift’s complicated celebrity beefs and a blatant overuse of the word “karma.” Subtly is clearly not her goal, which brings us to the question: how did we get here?
This weekend, forget finals and make the most of what San Antonio has to offer. With art and music shows, you can start summer early. P.S. Don't forget to vote in our local elections today! You have until 7 PM.