Brandon Flowers on Kanye West: “Everyone’s afraid to say anything contrary to him being a genius”

Brandon Flowers has been known and admits for putting his foot in his mouth a few times, including when he called The 2006 The Killers album, Sam’s Town “one of the best albums in the past 20 years,” even thought it ended up being a disappointment critically. However, he is not backing away from all of his claims, including when it comes to Kanye West being overrated.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Flowers was asked about a quote from 2006 where he said West “makes me ill.” Now, Flowers still stands by his response:

“Yeah, that one’s tough. Everyone’s afraid to say anything contrary to him being a genius. It’s crazy, man! And it’s frustrating. I’m not going to tear him down, but I will say I find that to be frustrating. [Laughs] That’s my stance on it. A lot of people might agree with me now. I may have been a little bit ahead of my time. But I think he wants to be good. I think he wants to be great, and that’s something that we all want to strive for. We’ve just got different roads of getting there, I guess.”

Flowers also said in the same interview that even though he still thinks his upcoming album The Desired Effect is going to be “strong,” he could’ve been too confident when he said every song could have been a single. He said also that The Killers “need a little bit of a kick in the pants” in order for them to put the energy into making a new album, but they are on their way towards it.

Titus Andronicus announces 29-track opera, The Most Lamentable Tragedy

In 2013, Titus Andronicus’s frontman Patrick Stickles announced he was going to record a follow up to the 2012 Local Business with a 30-song multi-act rock opera partially inspired by The Birth of Tragedy by Nietzsche and Touched With Fire by Kay Redfield. Stickers even offered an idea of making a movie with the opera. Ever since, he has appeared on WTF with Marc Maron and even released a random summer song.

It seems as though the gears are moving towards the album now. Stickles confirmed that the album is set to be out on July 28th and to be called The Most Lamentable Tragedy. The title is a reference to Shakespeare and the cover art, which is above, was designed by Nolen Strals. This upcoming album is Titus Andronicus’ Merge Records debut as their previous two releases were through XL Recordings.

The Most Lamentable Tragedy spans 93 minutes and has a 29-song track listing including new works as well as covers of Daniel Johnston, The Pogues, and the traditional folk song “Auld Lang Syne”. The album was produced by Kevin McMahon, longtime collaborator who also worked with  Diarrhea Planet and Widowspeak, and lead guitarist Adam Reich. The album has Owen Pallet, members of The So So Glos, Baked, and Lost Boys? as special guests.

According to the press release, the LP is to be like “a work of fiction”:

The central narrative of TMLT (“a work of fiction,” claims singer/songwriter Patrick Stickles) concerns an unnamed protagonist whom we meet in deep despair. Following an encounter with his own doppelgänger (an enigmatic stranger, identical in appearance though opposite in disposition), long held secrets are revealed, sending our protagonist on a transformative odyssey, through past lives and new loves, to the shocking revelation that the very thing that sustains him may be the thing to destroy him.

As far of the music goes, Stickles considers the album as a “rock opera” and says that the two major influences are Hüsker Dü’s Zen Arcade and Lou Reed’s Berlin. he told Grantland, “In the aesthetic universe of our rock opera, the downcast songs are more like Zen Arcade, which is, you know, very bare-bones, kind of mean rock production. And the more uplifting, empowered, sort of optimistic, moral, heightened-reality sort of stuff is more ornate and fancy like Berlin.”

The band has released a new song called “Dimed Out” in anticipation which can be found below.  

Ryan Adams finally has covered Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69”

Ryan Adams, 13 years ago, played a solo set at the Ryman Auditorium. The set included appearances by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, however, an obnoxious fan in the crowd would not stop calling for “Summer of ’69” by Bryan Adams. Thus, this heckler thought they were being funny by shouting this due to the similarity in names. Adams did not think it was as funny as he went on to a curse-filled rant and kicked the guy from the venue with at least a refund.

This was an infamous moment in Adams’ career but the story continued on Tuesday night. Adams was finishing his two night residency at the Ryman, and surprisingly enough, he actually performed the person’s request for “Summer of ’69”. The singer performed the cover of the 1985 hit without a hint of irony. He performed it as a gorgeous tribute to young love.

Watch the performance below:

Stream Mikal Cronin’s new album MCIII

The garage rock songwriter Mikal Cronin is set to release his third album MCIII through Merge Records on May 5th. The full album is streaming on iTunes in anticipation.

The LP is the follow up to his 2012 release, MCII. Cronin plays all the instruments on his record, much like his previous works, playing saxophone, French horn, and trumpet. He also arranged parts for a string quartet. 

The album is split in half, the last six tracks formed a conceptual suite about going to school in the Pacific Northwest. Cronin told Spin about his suite, “I’ve been thinking of doing something like that for a long time and always backed off. I didn’t know if I could pull that off in a way that wasn’t just lame or whiny, or just bad, you know? It was scary to actually tell that kind of story directly, instead of alluding to a non-specific breakup or something. So I just went for it.”

There are Pre-orders still going on. Watch Cronin cover Big Star’s “The Ballad of El Goodo”.

MCIII Tracklist:
01. Turn Around
02. Made My Mind Up
03. Say
04. Feel Like
05. I’ve Been Loved
06. i) Alone
07. ii) Gold
08. iii) Control
09. iv) Ready
10. v) Different
11. vi) Circle

D’Angelo announces US dates for The Second Coming Tour

R&B singer D’Angelo has announced a summer tour as support for Black Messiah, his comeback album. Over the course of June, the U.S. tour of the Second Coming Tour is over the course of 14 dates which includes a late night show at Bonnaroo. The itenerary is below.

Every set will have D’Angelo joined by the Vanguard, his band, which includes bassist Pino Palladino, from The Who, guitarists Jesse Johnson from The Time and Isaiah Sharkey, Chris “Daddy” Dave as drummer, keyboardist Cleo “Pookie” Sample, and vocalists Kendra Foster, Charlie “Red” Middleton, and Jermain Holmes.

D’Angelo 2015 Tour Dates:
06/07 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
06/08 – Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia
06/10 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theater
06/11 – Kansas City, MO @ Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland
06/13 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
06/14 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
06/16 – Dallas, TX @ The Bomb Factory
06/17 – Houston, TX @ The Warehouse
06/20 – Norfolk, VA @ NorVa
06/21 – Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium
06/23 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Keswick
06/25 – Washington, DC @ The Fillmore
06/27 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
06/28 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom

Watch D’Angelo perform “The Charade” during his recent appearance on SNL. 

The Melodic Tree’s Weekly Playlist

1. Teenage Talk – St. Vincent

2. I’ll Believe In Anything – Wolf Parade

3. Choices – The Hoosiers

4. Home – Jack Savoretti

5. Should Have Known Better – Sufjan Stevens

6. No Room In Frame – Death Cab for Cutie

7. Love Is To Die – Warpaint

8. For You – Angus & Julia Stone

9. 4th Time Around – Oren Lavie

10. Line of Fire – Junip

11. The Soul Serene – Villagers

12. How Can I – Laura Marling

13. Tears of Joy – Slow Club

14. Be Gentle With Me – The Boy Least Likey To

15. Cherry Tulips – Headlights

16. Oh Mandy – The Spinto Band

17. Walk In The Park – OH NO OH MY

18. In The Beginning – The Stills

19. Wrong Choice – The Lovely Feathers

20. Battles On – The Ghost is Dancing

Coachella’s sister festival Stagecoach pulls homophobic t-shirts sales

Music festival, Stagecoach is the country-based sister of Coachella’s that is now on its ninth year and has headliners of Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, and Miranda Lambert. However, now it had some offensive T-shirts.

Someone on Reddit pointed out that Stagecoach vendors were selling a homophobic T-shirt that says “Titties & Beer Thank God I Ain’t Queer.” There was another that read, “Roses Are Red, Areolas Are Pink, Show Me Yours And I’ll Buy You A Drink.”

A representative from the festival stated that the vendor who was selling the shirts were removed from the grounds. 

The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach promises “extra weird” album with new band The Arcs

In 2009, Dan Aurrbach released his solo debut Keep It Hid and now, the frontman is planning to release another album on his own, but under a new moniker as The Arcs. The full-length album from the band will be released this summer through Nonesuch, but for a glimpse of the album, Auerbach plans on releasing a 7-inch single next month.  

The single features “boxing-related” songs named “Stay in My Corner” and “Tomato Can”, and will be available in independent record stores exclusively via Nonesuch Records on May 2nd, the same day as the highly anticipated Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao match in Las Vegas. 

The album was recorded in two weeks with the assistance of Leon Michaels, who also helped him in the past with collaborations with Lana Del Rey and Dr. John Auerbach said about the album: “I just wanted to do my thing and get extra weird. I wanted everything to flow [and] be cohesive. A lot of the songs bleed one into the other, a lot like the Grateful Dead – my favorite records that they did. So I’ve got a lot of connected songs. It’s basically everything I love about music all wrapped up into one record – that’s all!”

If these upcoming releases aren’t enough for the fans of Auerbach, The Black Keys, however not having plans for making up their cancelled your dates, do have a few shows planned for this summer. 

The album art for “Stay in My Corner” and “Tomato Can” can be viewed above. 

Airbnb is renting out Kurt Cobain’s former Los Angeles apartment

As the new documentary about Kurt Cobain, named Montage of Heck, promised to bring an incredibly and unprecedented look in his life through unreleased home videos and demos, fans can get an even deeper look into Cobain’s life by renting his former SoCal apartment. The apartment is currently being rented through Airbnb. 

The apartment is located in the Melrose/Fairfax area in Los Angeles and is a one-bedroom place which was apparently the living space for Conain and Courtney Love between 1991 and 1992. 

The owner Brandon writes: “At the time, Kurt was focused on song writing and his artwork, much of which was created in the apartment. He was particularly into painting during this time and even decorated the walls in the living room and bedroom. His favorite spot in the house: the bathtub. In it, he wrote the song ‘Heart-Shaped Box.’”

The cost to stay at the apartment is $150/night, $798/week and $3800/month. Look at the current pictures of the space below and go here for more information.

Bedroom-Kurt-Cobain-AirBnB

Kitchen-Kurt-Cobain

LivingRoom-Kurt-Cobain-Apartment-AirBnb

The documentary about Cobain’s life, Montage of Heck, is currently showing in select theaters before its television premiere on HBO on May 4th.  

Mac DeMarco announces new album “Another One” as well as tour dates

Mac DeMarco will release a “mini” album on August 7th through Captured Tracks. a new “mini” album titled Another One. The eight-track LP was recorded in his home in Queens, New York in March this year after spending months on tour for Salad Days. 

The jizz jazzer also has planned an extensive European and North American tour that goes on into late September, including sets at festivals such as Shaky Knees, Primavera Sounds, Field Day, Bonnaroo, and Outside Lands. Below is his full itenerary as well as a promo video for the making of Another One. 

Mac DeMarco 2015 Tour Dates:
04/22 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
04/23 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
04/24 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
04/25 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
04/27 – Boston, MA @ Northeastern University
05/08 – Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival
05/10 – Austin, TX @ Austin Psych Festival
05/28 – Dudingchen, CH @ Bad Bonn Festival
05/29 – Toulouse, FR @ Festivals Des Curiosites
05/30 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
06/02 – Tel Aviv, IL @ Barby
06/04 – Porto, PT @ Primavera Sound
06/06 – Manchester, UK @ Parklife Festival
06/07 – London, UK @ Field Day Festival
06/11 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo
06/26 – Londonderry, VT @ Frendly Gathering Music Festival
06/27 – North Adams, MA @ Solid Sound
07/17 – Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival
08/08 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival
08/11 – Boston, MA @ Royale
08/12 – Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
08/13 – Montreal, QB @ Metropolis
08/15 – Toronto, ON @ Time Festival
08/16 – Buffalo, NY @ Tralf Music Festival
08/17 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
08/18 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
08/19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
08/20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
09/06 – Salisbury, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/07 – Glasgow, UK @ ABC
09/08 – Bristol, UK @ Roundhouse
09/10 – Birmingham, UK @ The Institute
09/14 – Tourcoing, FR @ Grand Mix
09/15 – Paris, FR @ La Cigale
09/16 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
09/17 – Cologne, DE @ Gebaude 9
09/18 – Berlin, DE @ Postbahnhof
09/21 – Stockholm, SE @ Debasser STrand
09/22 – Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller
09/23 – Gothenburg, SE @ Pustervik
09/24 – Aarhus, DK @ Voxhall
09/25 – Hamburg, DE @ Reeperbahn