Few festival lineups have turned heads like Las Vegas’ When We Were Young has with headliners My Chemical Romance and Paramore, plus pretty much every other band you might’ve heard in a Hot Topic in 2006. But in between the exclamations of joy from scene kids of all ages were some nagging doubts that the bill was too good to be true.
That was the first thought of Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd, who tells ALT CTRL Radio on Apple Music 1 that he didn’t believe the When We Were Young lineup poster was “real” when he came across it.
“I thought it was one of those like meme things that pop on my Instagram,” Boyd shares. “It’s like, ‘This is my dream show from the early aughts.'”
“That’s kind of where my head went first, but if it’s real, I think it’s awesome,” he adds. “I think if that’s what people want to do, then that’s perfectly fine.”
Incubus is not on the lineup for When We Were Young, though as the frontman for a band that had their biggest hits in the early 2000s, Boyd is no stranger to aughts nostalgia. It’s a concept that Boyd says he “struggle[s] with a little bit,” but thinks is ultimately “unavoidable.”
“We have people that have been listening to the music that we’re making…a lot of them since they were teenagers, and now they’re parents,” Boyd says. “So they hear these songs, and it’s nostalgic for them.”
“I can’t completely poo poo it, or turn away from it, or avoid it, because that would be foolish,” he adds. “So I do a little dance with nostalgia.”
When We Were Young takes place October 22, 23 and 29.
Boyd, meanwhile, will release a new solo album, Echoes & Cocoons, on March 11.
As she prepares to launch her Future Nostalgia tour, Dua Lipa reveals that the follow-up to that 2020 blockbuster album is well underway — and though she’s “experimenting,” she’s staying firmly in the “pop music” universe.
“I’ve done a big chunk of writing: It’s starting to take shape; I’ve got a lot of it recorded,” Dua says in the new issue of WSJ. Magazine. “It has a vision. It has a name, I think — for now.”
“It’s just been fun experimenting,” she adds. “I’m always going to make pop music, but it has its own unique sound, which is exciting and something that feels like a movement from Future Nostalgia. It’s still in baby form, so we’ll see as it progresses.”
But since Dua says juggling multiple projects is “ingrained” in her, she worked on the new music while also launching her new newsletter and podcast Service95and filming her debut feature film role in Matthew Vaughn‘s upcoming spy thriller Argylle. Vaughn tells the magazine that it was seeing Dua on an episode of The Graham Norton Show that convinced him to cast her.
“When I saw that interview, I thought, this girl’s got it,” Vaughn explains, and reveals that Dua’s character in the film plays a “pivotal role at a pivotal moment.” He also praises her as being “very attentive, inquisitive and focused.”
However, one thing Dua didn’t discuss in the cover story is her alleged breakup with her boyfriend Anwar Hadid.
“Something that I’ve realized over time is how little people actually know,” she says. “I’ve made peace with the fact that people can think what they want to think, but no one really, truly knows what’s happening behind closed doors.”
Alicia Keys celebrated her 41st birthday Tuesday by announcing a new health and wellness partnership with the Athleta company.
“I was drawn to Athleta because we both want to encourage women to discover, accept and OWN their power,” the “Empire State of Mind” singer said in a statement.
“We’re all about the uniqueness of women, body positivity and creating a lifestyle that showcases our immeasurable power within,” she added. “It’s time to thrive – not just to survive – and my hope is that these offerings are another outlet for you to amplify your personal power, your possibility, and feel comfortable in your own skin.”
The 15-time Grammy winner will co-create different product offerings for the brand and will also join Athleta’s Power of She Fund grant program as a mentor and advisor. The program supports businesses and organizations that are committed to making well-being accessible, specifically for women of color.
In celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8, the Athleta x Alicia Keys fashion collection will be released, as part of the company’s platform, “Power of She.”
In addition to announcing her Athleta partnership, Keys posted an Instagram photo on Tuesday with a cake reading, “Happy Birthday Alicia!” In another shot, she is proudly strutting down a hallway carrying several balloons.
The Irish rockers’ “Songs That Saved Our lives” playlist appropriately kicks off with “Your Song Saved My Life,” followed by 10 tunes each picked by frontman Bono, guitarist The Edge, drummer Larry Mullin Jr. and bassist Adam Clayton.
Among Bono’s choices are Joy Division‘s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” Bob Dylan‘s “Most of the Time,” Johnny Cash‘s cover of Nine Inch Nails‘ “Hurt,” the JAY-Z and Alicia Keys duet “Empire State of Mind,” The Verve‘s “Bittersweet Symphony” and David Bowie‘s “Life on Mars?” The singer also included Kendrick Lamar‘s “XXX,” featuring a guest appearance by U2.
The Edge also chose “Life on Mars?,” as well as a classic tune by his own band, “One.” The guitarist’s other picks included The Beatles‘ “Strawberry Fields Forever,” Stevie Wonder‘s “Superstition,” Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue,” Lou Reed‘s “Walk on the Wild Side” and The Clash‘s “London Calling.”
Standout choices by Mullin include Sweet‘s “Ballroom Blitz,” Diana Ross‘ “Upside Down,” Led Zeppelin‘s “Black Dog,” Van Morrison‘s “Moondance,” Bruce Springsteen‘s “Nebraska” and, believe it or not, Britney Spears‘ “…Baby One More Time.”
The list winds down with Clayton’s picks, which include Marvin Gaye‘s “What’s Goin’ On,” Sam Cooke‘s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” The Righteous Brothers‘ “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling,” Simon & Garfunkel‘s “The Sound of Silence,” James Brown‘s “Super Bad – Parts 1 & 2,” The Clash’s “The Magnificent Seven and two Bob Marley & the Wailers songs.
Bono’s list:
Kris Kristofferson, “Help Me Make It Through the Night”
Joy Division, “Love Will Tear Us Apart”
Sinead O’Connor, “You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart”
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “Into My Arms”
Kendrick Lamar featuring U2, “XXX”
Bob Dylan, “Most of the Time”
Johnny Cash, “Hurt”
JAY-Z and Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind”
The Verve, “Bittersweet Symphony”
David Bowie, “Life on Mars?”
The Edge’s list:
The Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever”
David Bowie, “Life on Mars?”
U2, “One”
Stevie Wonder, “Superstition”
Bob Dylan, “Tangled Up in Blue”
Aretha Franklin, “Say a Little Prayer”
Lou Reed, “Walk on the Wild Side”
Elvis Costello & the Attractions, “Shipbuilding”
New Radicals, “You Get What You Give”
The Clash, “London Calling”
Larry Mullin Jr.’s list:
Sweet, “Ballroom Blitz”
Sandy Nelson, “Let There Be Dreams”
Diana Ross, “Upside Down”
Led Zeppelin, “Black Dog”
Van Morrison, “Moondance”
Magazine, “The Light Pours In”
Black Uhuru, “Sponji Reggae”
Bruce Springsteen, “Nebraska”
Stiff Little Fingers, “Suspect Device”
Britney Spears, “…Baby One More Time”
Adam Clayton’s list:
Marvin Gaye, “What’s Goin’ On”
Bob Marley & the Wailers, “Exodus”
Sam Cooke, “A Change Is Gonna Come”
The Righteous Brothers, “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”
Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence”
James Brown, “Super Bad – Parts 1 & 2”
Sly & the Family Stone, “I Want to Take You Higher”
The Stranglers, “Nice ‘n’ Sleazy”
The Clash, “The Magnificent Seven”
Bob Marley & the Wailers, “Waiting in Vain”
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Ronnie Scotts
Van Morrison has received a lot of media attention lately for his outspoken views protesting the U.K.’s COVID-19 safety policies, which he considers overly restrictive and believes are unfairly causing great harm musicians’ livelihoods. That being said, Morrison has just postponed the four upcoming Florida concerts he had lined up in February due to COVID-related issues, and he also revealed that his three-show Las Vegas residency that’s slated to take place next month also may be rescheduled.
“With the surge in Covid cases as a result of the omicron variant in the US, we have made the very difficult decision to reschedule our upcoming dates originally planned for February to later in the year,” a message on Morrison’s Facebook page reads. “Our primary concern is the safety of our much valued audience.”
The Florida shows now are scheduled for April 20-21 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, and April 23-24 at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood.
In addition, the message states, “[W]e are also working hard to reschedule Vegas shows.” The concerts, which will take place at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, currently still appear to be confirmed for their original dates — February 18, 19 and 20.
The Facebook note adds, “All tickets will be valid for the rescheduled dates…We greatly appreciate your continued support and apologize profusely for any inconvenience this has caused. We understand it’s important you have plenty of time to change long-standing plans.”
To check out Van’s full touring itinerary, visit VanMorrison.com.
Biffy Clyro has announced a North American headlining tour.
The outing launches April 17 in Chicago, and will wrap up May 9 in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale this Friday, January 28, at 10 a.m. local time.
“America — we’ve missed you, it’s been way too long!” the Scottish rockers proclaim. “We can’t wait to come and play for you all again, it’s going to be special.”
For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit BiffyClyro.com.
Biffy will be touring in support of their last two records, 2020’s A Celebration of Endings, and 2021’s The Myth of the Happily Ever After.
Earlier this month, plans for an art exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art inspired by music from dozens of acts, including U2 and No Doubt, was announced. Now you’ll be able to buy your own version of those artworks — for a hefty price.
The exhibit, “Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined,” marks the 30th anniversary of Interscope Records and features over 50 original works by visual artists relating to a particular album or song from the Interscope catalog.
As previously reported, the U2-themed art was based on the band’s 2000 hit “Beautiful Day,” and was created by John Currin, while two No Doubt songs from the band’s 1995 breakthrough album Tragic Kingdom served as inspiration for two separate pieces of art that will be featured in the exhibit — “Just a Girl” by Julie Curtiss and “Spiderwebs” by Lucy Bull.
Starting January 27, you’ll be able to buy limited-edition vinyl albums featuring the artwork from the exhibit. There will be 100 copies of each album available, and each will come with a numbered archival quality print of the artwork on the cover. On top of that, each album will be delivered in a custom Gucci box. The price? $2,500 each.
The albums will be released in groups, with the first group being available to purchase from January 27 through January 31, exclusively via the app for the livestream shopping platform NTWRK. All profits will go to a charity foundation which is building a school in L.A.
The “Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined” exhibit will be on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from January 30 to February 13. For more info, visit LACMA.org.
Kem and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds are touring together in the spring, with Sherri Shepherd as the host.
The Full Circle tour kicks off March 30 in Petersburg, Virginia, and is scheduled through a May 15 show in Oakland, California. The trek will stop in a total of 26 cities, including Atlanta, Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City.
“I’m excited to join @musicbykem with host @sherrieshepherd on the #FullCircleTour this March!,” Babyface commented on Instagram. “Presale starts this Wednesday, January 26 at 10 a.m. local time at Babyfacemusic.com with code BABYFACE. General on sale begins this Friday, January 28 at 10 a.m. local time.”
The 11-time Grammy winner’s Instagram announcement also features a comical video of Sherri talking on the phone with a friend, saying, “Girl, Kem and Babyface are going on tour. Oh, we are going to make it a night, ladies night, girls night, find-a-man night. OK, get dressed, we going out!”
Britney Spears is giving an update on her Hawaiian vacation with fiance Sam Asghari.
Captioning an Instagram video of herself sunbathing in a bikini, the singer reveals she’s dealing with a “small” stomach bug that she compares to the nausea she experienced when she was pregnant.
“[I]t’s the nausea that is the worst,” Britney writes. “It’s like I can’t wake up so I go to the gym trying to wake my system up !!! It’s like clock work … I break my first sweat then I go to the bathroom and throw up.”
Britney says she pushes through until it goes away, but notes that “this has been going on for a month.” She then takes aims at the paparazzi.
“I wake up and my body is so little yet the war dog media hiding outside my room put me on defense just like they always have,” she writes. “so if you’re outside my room trying to get another cheap shot of me … please go f*** yourself and leave me alone !!!! I should be able to run around naked if I choose to … Have a good day folks !!!”
She adds that although the paps are “horrible,” Maui is “absolutely pure magic.”
If you have trouble deciphering Britney’s lengthy Instagram captions, one TikTok user is going viral for being Britney’s “Southern translator.” Kimberly Thomas reads the captions with a Southern accent to help fans better understand the Louisiana pop star’s meaning.
Kid Rock is mad at Joe Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci on his new song, “We the People.”
The chorus for the track features a chant of “Let’s Go Brandon,” a conservative code for hurling an expletive at the President. Rock is much less subtle when it comes to Biden’s Chief Medical Advisor, simply exclaiming, “F*** Fauci” after the line “Wear your mask/ Take your pills/ Now a whole generation’s mentally ill.”
“We the People” is out now via digital outlets, along with two other new Kid songs, “Rockin'” and “The Last Dance.”
Last year, Rock released a track called “Don’t Tell Me How to Live,” on which he takes aim at “snowflakes” and “millennials.”
