exploremusic

Here’s the Deal with Alkaline Trio

Alkaline Trio were in Toronto this past weekend.  They have a new album called This Addiction, which the first record on their own label.  They call the company Heart & Skull Records and they’re doing it in partnership with Epitaph.  We thought this was pretty cool, so we sent the “Mikes” down to the show.  Mike Sullivan and special correspondent Mike Daly talked to singer and guitarist Matt Skiba and drummer Derek Grant about the new venture.

That, by the way, was the only interview Alkaline Trio gave.  Nice exclusive. Thanks, guys.

Here’s the Deal with Stone Temple Pilots

It has been a long, long time since there was new music from the Stone Temple Pilots.  The last album was Shangri-La-Di-Da, which was released on June 19, 2001.  That’s almost nine years ago.  To put it another way, that was before Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia were invented. 

When they got back together for a series of shows a couple of years ago, no one—including me—had much faith that it would last.  But it has—and there’s a new album coming on May 25th.  It will be self-titled and we should get a single called
“Between the Lines” by the end of the month. 

What’s also interesting is that the record will come out on Atlantic, the label that signed them in the first place—and the label that was threatening to sue them over a variety of things regarding their contract.  I guess they’ve worked things out—and Scott Weiland is holding it together.  Check out this story about a listening party they held in New York last week.

A new STP record.  Soundgarden has reunited.  There will be a new Hole album on April 27th.  What is this?  1994?

Here’s the Deal with MGMT

And sticking with the theme of new albums, we finally heard something about the new album from MGMT.  It’ll be called Congratulations and the release date is April 13. 

There’s a lot of pressure here since Oracular Spectacular was so…spectacular.  All those singles, 80,000 copies in Canada, 160,000 digital singles, four million worldwide.

The first single from Congratulations is called “Flash Delirium”—and it’s not a simple pop song like, say, “Kids.”  It’s interesting.

You will need to listen to it at least half a dozen times before it begins to make sense.  Do not listen once and then dismiss it.  It’s one of those songs you need to spend time with.

To make it easier for you, there’s a free download. 

ExploreMusic Playlist: The songs featured on the radio show today were:

“Future Breeds” by Hot Hot Heat
“Flash Delirium” by MGMT
“Farewell, Mona Lisa” by The Dillinger Escape Plan
“All You Did Was Save My Life” by Our Lady Peace