Jonathan Hatchman (@JonHatchman) picks out the sounds and stories that have been making headlines over the last seven days… and presents them all as a handy playlist
Guitarist Tom DeLonge has left Blink-182, although ‘why?‘ very much depends on who you’re asking. Reasons are a little blurred, band mates Travis Barker and Matt Hoppus have, referred to DeLonge as “disrespectful and ungrateful”, whereas DeLonge, himself, took to his Facebook page to write a letter to his fans, declaring that he: “Never planned on quitting, just find it hard as hell to commit,” adding the whole situation as immature – although wasn’t immaturity at least part of the band’s shtick? In the meantime the remaining two thirds of Blink have recruited Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skibo and intend to press on.
Also this week it emerged that Tom Petty is set to receive a 12.5 per-cent cut of the royalties from Sam Smith’s 2014 single Stay With Me. This follows an out-of-court settlement had been reached between the pair over the similarities between Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne’s I Won’t Back Down and Smith’s breakthrough single agreeing that the melodic similarities may well be a case of coincidence.
As a plethora of music festivals bills for the coming summer are beginning to be announced, among them Disclosure have teamed up with Rudimental to curate a new festival – Wild Life. Following on from Disclosure’s string of incredible live shows and DJ sets, beginning with the duo’s own East London Wild Life parties, leading to the outfit hosting their own stages and at festivals such as Glastonbury, Unknown, and Exit Festival. Now less than a year later, the weekender will be coming to Brighton City Airport in 6-7 June, boasting a line up that includes the likes of Nas, Sam Smith, George Ezra, Wu-Tang Clan, Mark Ronson, and more, as well as headline sets from Disclosure and Rudimental.
In other music festival news, the first headliner for Scotland’s T In The Park has been announced. Evidently unable to avoid the limelight from one week to the next, The Libertines are set to play the festival at its new home of Strathallan Castle at the event which is set to take place from 10-12 July with tickets set to go on sale at the end of February and further line-up announcements set to follow.
Slipknot returned to London last week with a huge show at Wembley Arena. Bringing fellow new metallers Korn along with them for the Prepare For Hell Tour, a handful of Slipknot members joined the sub-headliners on stage for a brutal rendition of The Beastie Boys’ 1994 single Sabotage. Following the usual trend, plenty of fan-footage has emerged online over the past week, while we await the pro-shot video that Korn teased on their Instagram page following the show, but for now – here’s one of the better quality clips of the performance.
Jonathan’s pick Of The Week
Leeds’ Menace Beach released their acclaimed debut album earlier this month, as well as a new track Tastes Like Medicine, which is now accompanied by a fun, animated music video, produced by none other than Pulled Apart By Horses’ Tom Hudson. Comprised of a selection of musicians, notably including Hookworms guitarist MJ, Menace Beach’s noise-pop has caused some waves over the past couple of months, and it comes as no surprise. Tastes Like Medicine is a deeply infectious burst of bright indie rock bliss. Comprised of crunchy guitar chords, swooning “oohs” from vocalist Liza Violet, and an ever so slightly off-kilter drum beat, with each component providing an intrinsic view into the wild world of Menace Beach. Sounding as though recorded in a sunny California beach hut, providing a stark contrast to the cold British winter release.
