Hello! Welcome to Jukebox Graduate. Here are a few music-related links and stories you may have missed.
- Adam Scott (of Parks and Recreation, Party Down, and many other good things) and Scott Aukerman (of Comedy Bang! Bang! and Between Two Ferns) have, since 2014, discussed the music of U2 over 24 episodes of their podcast, “U Talkin’ U2 To Me?” Having finished the Irish band’s discography, last week they released the first episode of their also confusingly titled new podcast “R U Talking’ REM Re: Me?” So, here’s two funny and intelligent people talking about the band’s debut release, Chronic Town, the 1982 EP featuring “Gardening at Night.” Presumably, they’ll move through Michael Stipe and company’s 15 studio albums, culminating with 2011’s Collapse Into Now.
- Scott Hutchison, of Frightened Rabbit, churns out new music; since 2010, he has released three full-lengths and three extended plays with his main act, he has participated in the Fruit Tree Foundation’s first album, and has released a solo album under the name Owl John. Over the weekend, he and his brother, Grant, announced a new collaboration, called Mastersystem, with Justin Lockey of British band Editors and his brother James. As Hutchison told NME, the Lockeys wrote all of the songs and brought him in to sing vocals. Here’s the lead single, “Notes on a Life Not Quite Lived” and a link to the album, Dance Music, slated for release on April 6.
- English singer-songwriter Frank Turner released another song from his upcoming seventh studio album, Be More Kind. This second single is also the title track of the album, out May 4.
- On Friday, Neil Young posted a short essay on his site reflecting on the first Crazy Horse album and lamenting the ways modern technology has negatively affected the music business.
“The Tech Giants have figured out a way to use all the great music of everyone from all time, without reporting an artist’s number of plays or paying a f***ing cent to the musicians. Aren’t they great companies!!!”
- The theme for the Spring 2018 issue of No Depression, the journal at the forefront of Americana and roots music, is Appalachia. The site is great, but it’s incredible that they can survive and make beautiful print copies every quarter.