JASON NEWSTED Says He's Been 'Really, Really Frugal' With His METALLICA Earnings: 'That's Why I Still Have Them'
In a recent interview with the METALLICA fan-club magazine So What!, the band’s former bassist Jason Newsted was asked how he dealt with the huge commercial success of METALLICA’s 1991 self-titled album — better known as the “Black Album” — when it first happened. He said: “All of us experienced some kind of swelly head at different levels for different amounts of time through this three-year span. [It was] inevitable and impossible for it not to happen… I remember me personally, when I went shopping with [METALLICA guitarist] Kirk [Hammett] in Paris, and he took to me a couple of nice, nice stores, and I threw down a lot of money for some nice clothes and shoes and stuff. I’d never done that before. And I thought I was the shit… So I did get caught in the moment. I think that I’ve been really, really frugal with my earnings, and so that’s why I still have them. But I did have a couple of moments there. But that was the time — dropping all this money for wine and fancy shit… And I think it lasted for about — I’d say five to six months, for myself, that it was just that ‘walking on air.’ Everywhere that you went, in the 55 countries that we played in, they’re waiting for you when you fucking there… What are you supposed to do?”
When asked how he “caught himself” before going off the deep end, Newsted said: “I think when I came back home on the one break to be with my girl again, I just realized that that’s not who I am. It just is not who I am. I pretended I was gonna get this fancy car and all that shit. I’m, like, ‘Dude, you know that you’d rather have a ’65 Mopar, ’68 Mopar than you would that fucking Lamborghini bullshit anyway.’ But those guys were driving Porsches and fancy cars and stuff, and I’m, like, ‘I can afford that too.'”
You can now watch So What!’s entire one-hour interview with Newsted in four parts below.
Jason left METALLICA in 2001 but was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, along with guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, Hammett, and the man who replaced him, bassist Robert Trujillo, in 2009.
The Black Album is one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed records of all time. Its 1991 release not only gave METALLICA its first No. 1 album in no fewer than 10 countries, including a four-week run at No. 1 in the U.S., its unrelenting series of singles — “Enter Sandman”, “The Unforgiven”, “Nothing Else Matters”, “Wherever I May Roam” and “Sad But True” — fueled the band’s rise to stadium headlining, radio and MTV dominating household name status. The album’s reception from the press was similarly charged, building over the years from the top 10 of the 1991 Village Voice Pazz & Jop national critics poll to becoming a constant presence in the likes of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. The album’s impact and relevance continue to grow — as proven by one indisputable fact: The Black Album remains unchallenged as the best-selling album in the history of Nielsen SoundScan, outselling every release in every genre over the past 30 years.
To commemorate its 30th anniversary, the Grammy-winning, 16-times-platinum-certified Black Album received its definitive re-release in September via the band’s own Blackened Recordings.
Last year, Newsted sold his ranch in historic Sula, Montana. The listing price was $4.95 million but the final sale price wasn’t disclosed.
Newsted and his wife Nicole have been longtime residents of Jupiter, Florida.
In October 2020, Newsted bought a home on Skaneateles Lake in the village of Skaneateles, New York for $6.1 million.
In late 2019, Jason sold his Walnut Creek, California house for $2.3 million.
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Track Premiere: Getting Heshy with Tantivy’s “Worthy Foe”
The new single from rockin’ thrashers Tantivy is certainly worthy of your attention!
The post Track Premiere: Getting Heshy with Tantivy’s “Worthy Foe” appeared first on Decibel Magazine.
PAPA ROACH Releases Music Video For New Single 'Stand Up'
California rockers PAPA ROACH have released the official music video for their anthemic new single, “Stand Up”. Produced by Jason Evigan (Dua Lipa, G-Eazy, MAROON 5), the song brings massive energy and unique arrangements to singer Jacoby Shaddix’s uplifting and motivating lyrics. The track seeks to provide a signature, bouncing anthem for a world that is energized to stand up against injustice, complacency, and opposition, further exercising their agency towards the obstacles in this new year.
“‘Stand Up’ is inspired by the social unrest of marginalized people throughout the world. It’s about feeling of wanting to give up when you’re backed against the wall. For the ones that have been oppressed for so long that a sense of hopelessness is all they have,” shares Shaddix. “‘Stand Up’ is meant to inspire that whisper, that small voice inside that you are worth standing for. Step into empowerment and shake the world with your voice.”
“Stand Up” joins previously released singles “Dying To Believe”, “Kill The Noise” (which held the no. 1 position on the Mainstream Rock chart for over a month) and genre-bending banger of a single “Swerve” featuring Jason Aalon Butler (FEVER 333) and Sueco, all pulled from a 2020 writing session with the iconic rock band and a tight-knit creative team including familiar collaborators Colin Brittain and Nick Furlong. What started as an escape and an exercise in keeping the creative juices flowing, in a world that had completely ground to a halt, quickly grew into something bigger. The forthcoming album, expected to drop later this year, will be released via New Noize Records, in partnership with ADA Worldwide (WMG’s independent label and artist services arm).
PAPA ROACH is also celebrating March 1’s Anaheim, California show as the first sold-out gig on its North American “Kill The Noise” tour featuring very special guests HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD and BAD WOLVES. The trek, produced by Live Nation, will make stops in the United States and Canada, marking the band’s first headlining tour in three years.
PAPA ROACH’s second greatest-hits collection, “Greatest Hits Vol. 2: The Better Noise Years”, was released in March 2021 on Better Noise Music. “Greatest Hits Vol. 2 – The Better Noise Years” included 12 of the band’s top 10 hits released between 2010 to 2019 as well as three previously unreleased remixes and two unreleased acoustic recordings recorded live at the YouTube Studios in New York City.
PAPA ROACH’s latest album, “Who Do You Trust?”, was released in January 2019. The disc was produced by Furlong and Cunningham except for the song “Top Of The World”, which was helmed by Jason Evigan.
In December 2020, PAPA ROACH released a five-song EP, “20/20”, featuring “new takes on old jams,” including “Last Resort” and “Scars”.
Read more » Stellar Stream Obscured – SARCASM
Veterans of the Swedish death metal underground, SARCASM first formed in 1990, split in 1994 and re-emerged in 2015 with a revamped sound and Hell’s flames blazing in their eyes. Three albums later and it seems likely that “Stellar Stream Obscured” is exactly the record the band would have dreamt about making back in the day: epic, grotesque and steeped in the grand, grim traditions of MORBID ANGEL, DISSECTION and POSSESSED, it’s also a ferociously contemporary piece of work.
“Through The Crystal Portal” may be the most unhinged album opener in recent memory. Spikily melodic, but relentlessly violent and willfully angular and obtuse, it’s the kind of sonically punishing old-school riot that keeps the arcane metal flame burning through sheer force of belief. Likewise, “We Only Saw The Shadows Of Life” sounds like ten classic underground bands at once, but with the Swedes’ militant delivery placing things firmly in the bloody here and now. Not content with sending a few thousand volts through death and black metal, SARCASM switch to ghoulish doom mode for “Ancient Visitors”: a towering paean to the unfathomable dark, with acres of atmosphere.
Living up to its name, “The Spinning Tomb” is wild, hook-heavy death metal with a blastbeat heart and an evil thrash soul; “Obsidian Eyes” is a morbid but pitiless melodrama, with ornate, proggy embellishments adding dynamic oomph to a GRAVE-like barrage of riffs. Meanwhile, “The Powers Of Suffering That Be” brings hulking death doom riffs and a poisonous, blackened attack together in a shower of pitch-black sparks; while “Let Us Descend” is a richly malevolent curtain call, with a wickedly cinematic, instrumental overture giving way to a deliciously high octane and hostile black-thrash endgame. Every last second of “Stellar Stream Obscured” hits the target with a haughty, malicious flourish.
The band’s previous three albums were all pretty damn good, but this is seriously fucking great: And I mean that sincerely.
Read more » Ex-CANNIBAL CORPSE Singer CHRIS BARNES Became 'Physically Ill' After Watching 'Death Metal Round Table' Featuring CORPSEGRINDER
Former CANNIBAL CORPSE singer Chris Barnes says that watching a recent video discussion about the state of death metal featuring some of the genre’s top vocalists, including his CC replacement, George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, made him “physically ill.”
On January 19, Knotfest livestreamed “A Death Metal Round Table” hosted by Staypuft Mallow and featuring appearances by Fisher, Trevor Strnad from THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, Chase Mason from GATECREEPER and Alex Jones from UNDEATH. According to Knotfest, the four singers discussed “their early influences, the accessibility of the genre, inspiration from the weirdest places, live show between-song patter, their upcoming releases and tours and much, much more.”
Earlier today, Barnes — who exited CANNIBAL CORPSE in 1995, one year after the release of the band’s “The Bleeding” album — took to his Twitter to write: “I just watched a ‘death metal’ podcast on YouTube that was done about a week ago with the ‘top’ death metal vocalists .. it made me physically ill. I despise what this genre has become.” A short time later, HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta, who hosts a popular video podcast called “The Jasta Show” and who co-produced Fisher’s upcoming debut solo album, replied: “come on the podcast & discuss”. Chris responded: “No thanks brother. I have no need to jump on that bandwagon you guys got that”. Jasta fired back with “Weak”, to which Barnes said: “Ain’t here to play that game. You have fun tho bro.” Jasta then wrote: “you’re the one playing games, you ‘hate what the genre has become’ but do you ever promote or discuss new bands or try & help build anything in the genre?” This prompted Chris to respond: “Lol promote lol hahahahaha”. Jasta then countered: “Oh right that’s beneath you lol”, to which Barnes said: “Nah I’m just not a shill…”
After Barnes left CANNIBAL CORPSE to form SIX FEET UNDER, he was replaced in the former band by Fisher.
Five years ago, Barnes spoke about the possibility of SIX FEET UNDER and CANNIBAL CORPSE one day touring together, telling “The Chainsaw Symphony” radio program: “That would be a tough one to put together, my friend. [Laughs] You wouldn’t have any problems from my side of things, but I don’t think other people would be agreeable to that.”
He continued: “I don’t think there’s animosity [between us]. I think there’s just protecting other people’s feelings. I think that everyone knows certain things about everything and they’d like to see things a certain way, and that wouldn’t portray things a certain way that they would wanna portray them. So… I’m being very general and trying to be diplomatic about it.”
Barnes also talked about the circumstances behind his departure from CANNIBAL CORPSE. He said: “I just didn’t like being around them, because I was being ridiculed, and I just didn’t feel comfortable being in the same room with people that weren’t very nice to me personally. And I was part of that too, so we had all of our own type of differences, personally, and I don’t think it was gonna be able to be worked out. You know, mutual respect goes a far way when it comes to being in close quarters with people.”
He continued: “I’m sure we’d do things differently [today] — I mean, I know we would. It’s just the way things worked out. And I don’t have any animosity towards those guys at all, and I don’t think they do towards me. It’s just that… It would be too confusing for things [if we were to tour together], I think, from their perspective.”
Barnes added: “I’d do anything. I just like to see a lot of people out there with smiles on their faces; that’s the only thing that’s important to me, man. Like, seriously, if I see a big crowd of people that everyone’s smiling, like, ‘Oh, yeah! This is what we’ve been waiting for,’ I’m ready then, man. If I see a small room of people that are just fired up to go, man, it just gets me going on stage, you know. And that’s all I’m there for — that feeling, that sharing of energy, man. And I’ll go for it any which way to get that any way I can with any person I can get it with. And if it gets to that means to an end, that’s all that’s important, man — that transference. And some people just don’t see it that way, man, and it’s cool.
“I’m not gonna be mean to anybody, and I never wanted to be. I’m my own person, and sometimes I’m put at fault for that, and I think we all are in our own way. And that’s just life; those are the things we deal with as people.”
SIX FEET UNDER’s current lineup also includes another former CANNIBAL CORPSE member, guitarist Jack Owen.
SIX FEET UNDER’s latest album, “Nightmares Of The Decomposed”, was released in October 2020 via Metal Blade Records.
Fisher’s solo album, titled “Corpsegrinder”, will be released on February 25. The 10-song effort was co-produced by Nick Bellmore (DEE SNIDER, KINGDOM OF SORROW) and Jasta and will be made available through Jamey’s new label, Perseverance Music Group.
I just watched a “death metal” podcast on YouTube that was done about a week ago with the “top” death metal vocalists .. it made me physically ill. I despise what this genre has become.
— Chris Barnes (@sixfeetofficial) January 27, 2022
No thanks brother. I have no need to jump on that bandwagon you guys got that
— Chris Barnes (@sixfeetofficial) January 27, 2022
Ain’t here to play that game. You have fun tho bro.
— Chris Barnes (@sixfeetofficial) January 27, 2022
Lol promote lol hahahahaha
— Chris Barnes (@sixfeetofficial) January 27, 2022
Nah I’m just not a shill…
— Chris Barnes (@sixfeetofficial) January 27, 2022
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Read more » SEBASTIAN BACH Throws Shade At DAVID DRAIMAN For 'Siding' With JOE ROGAN Over NEIL YOUNG In COVID 'Misinformation' Fight
Sebastian Bach has thrown shade at DISTURBED singer David Draiman for praising Spotify’s announcement that it would remove Neil Young’s music two days after Young demanded that his catalog be taken off in response to “fake information about vaccines” being “spread” on the platform via Joe Rogan’s podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience”.
In a now-deleted post on his web site, Young said the music and podcast platform is “spreading fake information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe this disinformation spread by them.” “I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,” he wrote, according to Rolling Stone. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”
On Wednesday (January 26), a Spotify spokesperson confirmed that Young’s music was being removed from the platform, saying: “We want all the world’s music and audio content to be available to Spotify users. With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators. We have detailed content policies in place and we’ve removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon.”
A short time later, Draiman weighed in on Spotify’s move, tagging the company’s chief executive Daniel Ek on Twitter and writing: “@eldsjal I applaud you and @Spotify for making the RIGHT call, preserving #FreeSpeech and not capitulating to the mob. I may not agree with everything @joerogan or his guests say, but they’re entitled to have the forum to say it.”
David later clarified his stance, writing: “Let me be clear. I do not support ANY artist blackmailing any entity to follow an agenda THEY believe in, wether it’s @Neilyoung one one side of the spectrum or @EricClapton on the other. Music shouldn’t be used to sow division. It should be used to bring people together IMHO”.
Earlier today, Bach took to his Twitter to write: “Imagine calling yourself a rocker yet siding with some dude who has a podcast over @Neilyoung You can stick to listening to your podcast and I will stick to listening to Neil Young”.
Sebastian previously chimed in on Neil’s request in a tweet earlier in the week. He wrote at the time: “Misinformation about the vaccines is everybody’s problem. Neil Young is doing this because he wants rock and roll to exist and his fans to live. This other guy is a complete jackass who doesn’t give a shit about anybody or anything except himself”.
Back in 2016, Draiman revealed that he introduced Bach to his now-wife, model Suzanne Le, and he attended their August 2015 wedding in San Jose, California. “We are good friends,” David told the San Francisco radio station 107.7 The Bone at the time. “She’s a longtime friend of my wife [Japanese-American model, actress and wrestler Lena Yada]. [His wife and my wife] used to do Hawaiian Tropic pageants together back in the day, so that’s where they met originally. And when Baz fell out of his last relationship, [Suzanne] had always mentioned to me how much she had a thing for him. So I’m, like, ‘Okay, I’ve got a girl for you, but she’s a good girl.’ It took some prepping. But he’s been amazing. He’s a great source of inspiration. He’s a ridiculously talented guy, and certainly a good friend.”
Bach proposed to Le on December 28, 2014, which also happened to be Suzanne’s 42nd birthday.
The singer in 2014 broke off his engagement to model Minnie Gupta, who appeared on the cover of his “Kicking & Screaming” album and in videos for the singles “Kicking & Screaming” and “I’m Alive”.
Sebastian was previously married for 18 years to Maria Bierk, with whom he had been coupled since before joining his former band. They split up in April 2010.
Bach and Maria Bierk have three children: sons Paris and London and daughter Sebastiana.
“The Joe Rogan Experience” became a Spotify exclusive in 2020, when Rogan signed a multi-year exclusive licensing deal with the streaming giant.
Ek has defended Rogan in the past, including after an episode that featured the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in 2020.
“We want creators to create,” Ek told The Financial Times at the time. “It’s what they do best. We’re not looking to play a role in what they should say.”
Imagine calling yourself a rocker yet siding with some dude who has a podcast over @Neilyoung ? you can stick to listening to your podcast and I will stick to listening to Neil Young ✌️
— Sebastian Bach (@sebastianbach) January 27, 2022
@eldsjal I applaud you and @Spotify for making the RIGHT call, preserving #FreeSpeech and not capitulating to the mob. I may not agree with everything @joerogan or his guests say, but they’re entitled to have the forum to say it.
— David Draiman (@davidmdraiman) January 27, 2022
Let me be clear.
I do not support ANY artist blackmailing any entity to follow an agenda THEY believe in, wether it’s @Neilyoung one one side of the spectrum or @EricClapton on the other.
Music shouldn’t be used to sow division. It should be used to bring people together IMHO
— David Draiman (@davidmdraiman) January 27, 2022
Misinformation about the vaccines is everybody’s problem. Neil Young is doing this because he wants rock and roll to exist and his fans to live. This other guy is a complete jackass who doesn’t give a shit about anybody or anything except himself https://t.co/SgzVBnIwqM
— Sebastian Bach (@sebastianbach) January 25, 2022
Video Premiere and Interview: A Crash Course in How to Rule India’s Metal Scene with Demonstealer’s Sahil Makhija
Demonstealer schools us about India’s metal history and premieres a new video!
The post Video Premiere and Interview: A Crash Course in How to Rule India’s Metal Scene with Demonstealer’s Sahil Makhija appeared first on Decibel Magazine.
Watch ADRIAN SMITH + RICHIE KOTZEN Perform In Roseville, California
Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen’s project SMITH/KOTZEN played the fourth show of its U.S. West Coast tour last night (Wednesday, January 26) at Goldfield Trading Post in Roseville, California. Joining Smith and Kotzen as part of their touring band is Richie’s wife, internationally acclaimed bass player Julia Lage, formerly of the Latin Grammy-nominated Brazilian rock band BARRA DE SAIA. With a strong pedigree in rock, Lage has played alongside the likes of Pat Travers, Elliot Easton (THE CARS), Nuno Bettencourt (EXTREME) and Mark McGrath (SUGAR RAY). In addition, SMITH/KOTZEN has enlisted drummer Bruno Valverde of ANGRA for the U.S. West Coast dates.
Video footage of the Roseville concert, including SMITH/KOTZEN’s rendition of the IRON MAIDEN classic “Wasted Years”, with Smith on lead vocals, can be seen below.
In a recent interview with Metal Edge magazine’s “Another FN Podcast With Izzy Presley”, Richie stated about how the short tour came together (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “What happened was it was all just by timing. Nathalie [Dufresne-Smith, Adrian’s wife] and Adrian came into town, and Adrian said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna be there for a couple of months. You wanna write some more songs?’ And we did get together and we did about seven things that are in the works; we have some demo stuff that are in the works. And then we started thinking, ‘Man, we’re here. Why don’t we play?’ Julia was in the house and we were talking about it. And it just kind of — boom. It just made sense. ‘Let’s go. Call Bruno.’ And we put it together. It was real easy.”
Adrian added that fans can definitely expect to hear more music from SMITH/KOTZEN, which released a full-length album and an EP during 2021.
“We started writing with a view to doing another album, and then we got sidetracked on dates,” Smith said. “Like Richie said, we’ve got six or seven things. It’s just taking where we left off with the EP — just writing as we do.
“I don’t wanna change the world,” he added. “I just wanna make good rock music. It’s n there, and you’ve just gotta do it. You just have to do it, really. It’s one of those things.”
SMITH/KOTZEN remaining West Coast tour dates:
Jan. 27 – The Siren – Morro Bay, CA
Jan. 28 – Ventura Theatre – Ventura, CA (postponed from Jan. 15)
SMITH/KOTZEN’s eponymous debut album was released globally through BMG in March 2021 to media and fan acclaim, charting No. 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart in the U.S., Top 20 in the U.K. as well as in other major markets such as Germany, Japan and Canada. A follow-up EP, “Better Days”, featuring four new tracks was released on November 26 in conjunction with international Record Store Day’s Black Friday event.
Smith is best known as one of IRON MAIDEN’s principal guitarists, having also enjoyed success as a solo artist. Kotzen is the frontman for THE WINERY DOGS as well as having been the guitarist for both MR. BIG and POISON during his long and acclaimed career, which has to date seen him release more than 20 solo albums. Both artists are also prolific songwriters.
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You Might Not Know It, But 2021 Was a Good Year for Guitar Music
As we soft launch into the new year, I’m not waiting for the requisite guitar obituary in the news. It’s not going to happen again anytime soon. Why? Because as far as the mainstream media is concerned, our beloved instrument is not only dead, it’s irrelevant to the point of not even being an afterthought. When the New York Times published their most recent albums of the year list, there was barely a guitar-based recording to be found. Still, there is not only hope, but also cause for jubilation.The crush of Covid has been good to the guitar industry. As I’ve written before, manufacturers and retailers have reported brisk 6-string sales. And like other builders, I have sold everything I can make. So, beyond the hoarding factor, that means there’s a new crop of players bubbling up, which should make its way onto the recording and performance scene before too long. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there are hordes of rock clones blasting AC/DC- and Zeppelin-style riffs in suburban garages. The guitar—acoustic or electric—is again a true ensemble instrument, and it’s easy to find evidence amongst the scores of releases from 2021.What I’m seeing outside of blues, bro-country, and Americana circles is the guitar used in an orchestral way. The guitar—acoustic or electric—is again a true ensemble instrument, and it’s easy to find evidence amongst the scores of releases from 2021.In African music, the guitar continues to be a driving force as a rhythm and single-note-phrase component in the tradition of Ali Farka Touré. The current incarnation, in electric form, is illustrated in Mdou Moctar’s “Afrique Victime,” where piercing Stratocaster figures punctuate and urge the music along. The title song’s upbeat crackle of single-coil spank dances in a joyful way that belies the dark message of the lyrics. It’s a sound that’s made its way into more than a few genres, including reggae and hip-hop.Mdou Moctar – “Afrique Victime” (Edit) (Official Music Video)An album finding its way into the year’s best-of lists is Sour by Olivia Rodrigo. This Disney-star-turned-teenage-misanthrope has earned a lot of attention. Her single “Brutal” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart with distorted guitar riffs and an angsty storyline. Unlike most pop offerings, the song’s intro begins with a full-on distorted power-chord riff reminiscent of Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up.” The resulting combination of sweet and sarcastic has given the song a sort of anti-Taylor Swift status. The official video is like a mesmerizing Sukeban version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” where the cheerleaders are the band. I loved it but view at your own peril.Olivia Rodrigo – brutal (Official Video)Fans of angular riffs and funky rhythms might like to check out Black Midi’s second studio album, Cavalcade. They’ve been compared to off-center bands like Primus, but they’re capable of weaving dreamscapes as ethereal as Mazzy Star. Despite their math-rock leanings, the band is capable of genre-bending compositions that prominently feature textural guitars in an almost jazz-like manner. Geordie Greep’s flexible fretwork is an example of the 6-string used as a capable component as much as a solo instrument, never completely stealing the show.black midi – Full Performance (Live on KEXP at Home)In a more familiar format, singer/guitarist Tamara Lindeman fronts the Canadian folk band the Weather Station, whose long-established instrumentation of guitars, bass, and drums carries on the traditional guitar role as a rhythm and solo voice. There’s no mistaking that the spotlight is solidly on Lindeman, who handles the rhythm guitar duties on a vintage-style Kay hollowbody, yet there’s plenty of interplay with (ex-Constantines) guitarist Will Kidman. The band’s 2021 album, Ignorance, has made a lot of best-of lists with its airy, folk-based sound. It’s clear this format isn’t going away anytime soon.The Weather Station – Robber (Official Video)Another artist whose use of guitar illustrates the instrument as an important puzzle piece is Julien Baker, whose Little Oblivions was released last year. Most often seen with a black-guard Telecaster, Baker handles both electric and acoustic guitar duties on this self-produced album. Although I wouldn’t describe her as a shredder, the guitar plays an important role (alongside keyboards) in her music. Once again, I think that this is precisely the kind of format that is keeping the guitar relevant as an ingredient of popular music.Julien Baker – “Hardline” (Official Music Video)Continuing in a dystopian theme, Illuminati Hotties’ “Threatening Each Other Re: Capitalism,” from the album Let Me Do One More, floats like a winsome butterfly and stings like a bulldozer. Supported with plodding chords and a dirge-like tempo, singer/songwriter/producer/engineer Sarah Tudzin lays out her vision of the American dream run amok with a catchy melody line and dark humor. Raised on Green Day and other pop-punk, it’s clear that Tudzin sees the guitar and bass as essential to her music.illuminati hotties – Threatening Each Other Re: Capitalism (Lyric Video)Despite having been disappointed by the lack of guitar bands populating the year’s best-of lists, I’ve found some interesting and vibrant new music that uses the guitar as a sonic chameleon—which is one of the things I like best about its capabilities. I always remind myself that music is really all about the song, not the guitarist. If you’re not convinced, there’s always Americana, because even the worst country songs still have amazing guitar playing.
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