Author: bella.king

The Melodic Tree’s Weekly Playlist

1. Signal Drift – Aloha

2. Top of the Hill – Conduits

3. Stay Loose – BRONCHO

4. Got Old – The Babies

5. Brothers – Annuals

6. Easier Said – Sunflower Bean

7. Hangover Day – Jason Collett

8. Ghosting – Mother Mother

9. Now It’s On – Grandaddy

10. One Way Glass – Innerspace Orchestra

11. Diagram Girl – Beyond the Wizards Sleeve

12. Autopilot – Media Jeweler

13. I Want the Lights On After Dark – Memphis

14. Pretty Boy – Young Galaxy

15. Letting Go – Braids

16. Funny Heartbeat – Kisses

17. Beyond the Infinite – Brothertiger

18. The Haste – Casa del Mirto

19. Late Night – Dempsey

20. Nothing More – Expensive Looks

Yeah Yeah Yeahs reunite, covers David Bowie and Lou Reed at NYC show

Yeah Yeah Yeahs reunited for their first live concert since 2013 at a party celebrating legendary music photographer Mick Rock.

According to Rolling Stone, Karen O fronted the house band that included Yeah Yeah Yeahs bandmates Nick Zinner and Brian Chase as well as TV on the Radio bassist Jaleel Bunton and keyboardist Money Mark. The supergroup covered David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream,” Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day,” and Ramones’ “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEiFO6Uhlul/

 

Prince’s Purple Rain returning to theaters for limited time

Prince died at the age of 57 yesterday. To remember the Purple One, AMC Theatres will be screening his 1984 film Purple Rain for a limited time. Starting tomorrow, the movie will be shown at 87 theaters, the screenings will run through April 28. Find a full list of participating theaters here. Albert Magnoli, who directed, wrote, and edited the film, released a statement on Prince’s death on his website. Find it below.

Here’s Magnoli’s statement:

The news of Prince’s sudden and unexpected passing is very difficult to process. He was my creative partner and friend. We shared tremendous times together during and after the making of Purple Rain. I know his fans are devastated. I know his music meant so very much to so many people. He was a good man, complicated and diligent, and like men of his caliber, he always demanded from himself and others the very best. Travel well, friend, wherever your next journey takes you.

Viet Cong announce name change

After months of controversy that had shows protested and canceled, the post-punk band formerly known as Viet Cong have announced their new name. The Canadian outfit are officially known as Preoccupations.

The band first encountered criticism after the release of their debut tape in 2014, but their name began affecting their shows once their full-length was released early last year. They were accused of insensitivity, racism, and cultural appropriation for their choosing their name from the brutal North Vietnamese army that fought the South and the US during the Vietnam War. The band promised that their name change was coming in September, and now they’ve officially chose on Preoccupations.

“We apologize to those who were adversely affected by our former band name,” Preoccupations said in their statement. “This was never anticipated nor our intent. We are artists and not politicians, we understand that the name reflected pain to some individuals and we are happy to change it and move on and focus on our music.”

In an interview with Pitchfork, frontman Matt Flegel said that the new name is from a list friend and fellow Canadian musician Chad VanGaalen sent the band. “It’s kind of been an issue finding a new band name — it’s hard to find something that hasn’t been taken. Obviously, it’s been a long time coming, but really we started coming up with names after we finished recording this new record. It made sense to have a new body of work to give it some sort of context. A new band name with new music moving forward.”

Read the band’s full statement below.

“After finishing our latest record and taking some time off, we are excited to announce that we will be performing and recording as ‘Preoccupations’ going forward. We will be previewing new material from a forthcoming record in a series of festivals and shows in North America and Europe in the coming months. We apologize to those who were adversely affected by our former band name. This was never anticipated nor our intent. We are artists and not politicians, we understand that the name reflected pain to some individuals and we are happy to change it and move on and focus on our music. Thanks to all our friends and fans. See you all soon.”

Unknown Mortal Orchestra expands tour

Unknown Mortal Orchestra expanded their tour behind their latest album, Multi-Love. Their itinerary has North American dates for July, including a headlining show in New York City’s Central Park. Find a full list of dates below. Unknown Mortal Orchestra played Coachella’s first-weekend last week and will return to Indio for round two. The band will also hold voter registration drives at various performances as the presidential election approaches.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra:

04-21 Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern
04-23 Indio, CA – Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
04-28 Sao Paulo, Brazil – Beco 203
04-29 Buenos Aires, Argentina – Niceto Club
04-30 Santiago, Chile – Sala Omnium
05-07 Fort Collins, CO – Aggie Theatre #
05-08 Lincoln, NE – Vega #
05-09 Des Moines, IA – Wooly’s #
05-10 Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall #
05-12 Lawrence, KS – Bottleneck #
05-13 Memphis, TN – 1884 #
05-13-15 Atlanta, GA – Shaky Knees Festival
05-17 Columbus, OH – Skullys Music Diner #
05-18 Grand Rapids, MI – The Pyramid Scheme #
05-19 Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre #
05-20 Fargo, ND – The Aquarium #
05-21 Winnipeg, Manitoba 0 WECC #
05-23 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – Amigos Cantina #
05-24 Edmonton, Alberta – The Starlite Room #
05-25 Calgary, Alberta – Commonwealth #
05-27 George, WA – Sasquatch Festival
05-27-29 Boston, MA – Boston Calling
06-17-19 Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands – Best Kept Secret Festival
06-17-19 Aarhus, Denmark – Northside Festival
07-01 Vilanova I La Geltru, Spain – Vida Festival
07-03 Werchter, Belgium – Rock Werchter
07-19 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
07-20 Pontiac, MI – Crofoot Ballroom
07-23 Ottawa, Ontario – Ritual Nightclub
07-24 Burlington, VA – Signal Kitchen
07-25 Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall
07-27 Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair
07-28 Providence, RI – Fete Ballroom
07-30 New York, NY – Central Park Summerstage
09-02-03 Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley !

# with Whitney
! with Tame Impala

Afropunk Brooklyn’s 2016 lineup announced

Afropunk has announced the lineup for this year’s Brooklyn festival, which is set to take place August 27-28th at Commodore Barry Park. Ice Cube, Janelle Monáe, Tyler the Creator, TV On The Radio, Flying Lotus, the Internet, Cee Lo Green, George Clinton, Angel Haze, Kelela, Saul Williams, Skunk Anansie, Shabazz Palaces, Thundercat, Trash Talk, Prayers, and Downtown Boys will perform, as well as a “Superjam” from members of Bad Brains, Fishbone, and Living Colour. The theme is “Power to the Party;” check out the manifesto below and the poster above. Afropunk released the following statement about the theme:

Power, it’s a feeling, it’s an energy, it’s the undisputed connection between cause and effect – the best of us give it away, the worst usurp it, but living modern life to the fullest, means either mastering your relationship to it or walking in its shadow. We are not blind.
Party is an oxymoron, it’s a gathering of many for a shared purpose and it’s also an outcast individual, it’s a lively social occasion as well as a gang – and the story of any party is never over, because like naked cities and the metaphysical “I”, there’s always another take.
Power to the Party means trusting the friction, the transference of great capacity to the free spirit, belief in the high-heeled spark of the assembly, and the group-mind’s ability to choose a glorious path. This isn’t about getting elected, or being protected; it’s about staking a claim.
Join the party and feel its power
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Record Store Day at Southtown Vinyl in Photos

The Melodic Tree’s Weekly Playlist

1. When U Love Somebody – Fruit Bats

2. Sarah – Alex G

3. Fundamental Ground – TW Walsh

4. Holiday – Surf Friends

5. Secret Makeout Factory – And the Kids

6. We All Need Something – Bedroom

7. When the Sun Sets – Mars Water

8. Flowers on the Wall – Tomorrow Tulips

9. Roky Said – Dead Ghosts

10. Puppet on a String – Night Beats

11. Do You Ever Think of Me? – The Paperhead

12. Lonely Eyes – The Spyrals

13. Big Sur – Magic Castles

14. Bridge of Noise – Flavor Crystals

15. Today is All We Have – Lower Heaven

16. Hallways – Bad Liqour Pond

17. Yesterday – The Orange Revival

18. Sandy Kim – Acid Ghost

19. Okay – Slow Hollows

20. Postcards Holiday- Boys Age

Mumford & Sons donate all profits from Charlotte, NC concert to LGBTQ organization

Mumford and Sons’ concert in Charlotte scheduled on Thursday night will go on but all profits will be donated to a local LGBTQ organization in town.

“As a band that relishes welcoming everyone to our shows and promoting tolerance,” Mumford and Sons wrote in their statement, “we do want to take a stand with the people of North Carolina who this week are shouting loudly against intolerance, fear and discrimination.”
Their show at the Time Warner Center Arena was sold out, so the LGBTQ community received a lot of help in fighting back against HB2. Read the band’s complete statement below. 

“Dear friends,
We will be playing a show tomorrow in Charlotte, and recent events in North Carolina have got us talking a lot as a band the last few days, so we felt compelled to say something in advance to you.

As a band that relishes welcoming everyone to our shows and promoting tolerance, we do want to take a stand with the people of North Carolina who this week are shouting loudly against intolerance, fear and discrimination.

Over the years we’ve looked for ways to contribute to the vitality of local communities and, in that spirit, we’re now creating a charitable fund to support those who have made it their mission to pursue love and justice. We will be donating all of our profits from this show to this new fund. And we will start by making a donation from it to a local LGBTQ organisation.

As always, we will open the doors to our show to anyone who wants to come, and are excited to get down with the people of Charlotte. 

M, B, W & T”