The Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival in Las Vegas last month announced that Madness will headline its 2020 installment along with the reunited Circle Jerks and Oi! pioneers Cock Sparrer. Now the 2 Tone-era ska heroes have announced three more rare U.S. concerts around that festival next May.
Australian college-rock faves Hoodoo Gurus dropped two big pieces of news this week: they’ve released a brand-new single called “Answered Prayers,” and, even more surprising, they announced the band’s first U.S. tour in a decade. The new single is available now on streaming services, and can be heard here.
The Pet Shop Boys will release their 14th studio album in January, a 10-song collection called Hotspot that will include the recently released dance track “Dreamland” — featuring Olly Alexander of the UK synthpop outfit Years & Years — as well as the new single “Burning the Heather,” which includes an assist from Bernard Butler.
The, er, monstrous reissue of R.E.M.’s 1994 album Monster arrives on Friday, and the band has continued to tease some of the unheard material that’ll appear on the box set. Next up: the instrumental demo “Uptempo Mo Distortion,” which sounds enough like “old” R.E.M. to explain why it wasn’t further developed.
R.E.M. continues to tease fans with tastes of its newly remixed version of Monster, this time previewing the massive reissue of the 1994 album with original producer Scott Litt’s new take on “Let Me In,” the spare, wall-of-sound tribute to Kurt Cobain that anchored that record. Check it out right here.
Michael Stipe today released his debut solo single, the synthy “Your Capricious Soul,” which comes a full eight years after the breakup of R.E.M. The song can be purchased for download from Stipe’s website, with proceeds benefiting the climate action group Extinction Rebellion. Hear it right here.
R.E.M. today shared a previously unreleased song the band recorded 15 years ago at the famed Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas in an effort to help raise money for Mercy Corps’ Hurricane Dorian relief and recovery efforts in those storm-ravaged islands. The track can be streamed for free or purchased for $2.
Q&A: Daniel Ash on Love and Rockets’ reunion, his new band — and figuring out how to play “So Alive” 
Q&A: Chris Frantz talks Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club and new book ‘Remain in Love’ 
Q&A: Steve Wynn on The Dream Syndicate’s first new album in nearly 30 years 
Q&A: Bauhaus’ David J on his ‘accidental’ concept album ‘Not Long For This World’ 
Q&A: Peter Murphy on ‘Ninth,’ Bauhaus’ break-up, reuniting Dalis Car 
Q&A: Joey Santiago on Pixies’ ‘Doolittle’ tour, possible ‘Surfer Rosa’ shows, new album talk 
Q&A: Prefab Sprout’s Paddy McAloon on new album, changing the world with music 
Q&A: Peter Hook talks ‘Unknown Pleasures’ tour, re-recording Joy Division 