Green Day teases October 24 date with “The American Dream Is Killing Me” website

October 1, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

September has officially ended, which can only mean one thing: Green Day is awake.

On Sunday, October 1, the “American Idiot” trio launched a new website, TheAmericanDreamIsKillingMe.com, which features a video of frontman Billie Joe Armstrong waking up to the sounds of a muffled guitar riff. As he sits up in bed, he looks at his calendar and sees the date Tuesday, October 24, circled.

Green Day had previously set up the website IsGreenDayAwake.com, which now simply declares, “Yes.” Back when it was still September, the site gave you negative answers such as, “Still no.”

So, is The American Dream Is Killing Me the name of the next Green Day album? It looks like we’ll find out October 24, which notably comes after Green Day’s headlining sets at the When We Were Young festival, taking place October 21-22 in Las Vegas.

Green Day’s most recent album is 2020’s Father of All… The group also just put out a 30th anniversary reissue of their 1994 breakout album, Dookie.

U2 launches Vegas residency at Sphere in front of star-filled crowd

September 30, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

U2 launched their Las Vegas residency, U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere, on Friday, September 29, treating fans to a totally immersive experience.

The venue’s huge LED screens flashed a gallery of images created for the show, while the rockers dazzled the crowd on a Brian Eno-inspired stage that looked like a turntable

According to Setlist.fm, U2 opened with Achtung Baby’s “Zoo Station,” and in the end played all of 1991 album, including “Mysterious Ways,” “One” with bits of “Purple Rain” and “Love Me Tender” added, “So Cruel” for the first time since 1992, and “Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World” for the first time since 1993.

The set also featured U2 classics including “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “With or Without You,” “Elevation” and “Beautiful Day,” which featured bits of The Beatles‘ “Blackbird” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in honor of Paul McCartney, who was in the audience. They also played their brand new single “Atomic City.”

U2 even treated the crowd to an acoustic set, which, according to Variety, Bono said will focus on a different album, or other people’s albums, each show. This show featured the Rattle and Hum tunes “All I Want Is You,” dedicated to drummer Larry Mullen, Jr., who’s skipping the residency to recover from surgery, “Desire,” dedicated to McCartney, “Angel of Harlem” and “Love Rescue Me,” dedicated to the late Jimmy Buffett.

The show also brought out many of U2’s celebrity fans, including McCartney, Bryan Cranston, Dr. Dre, Jimmy Kimmel, Matt Damon, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich, Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King.

U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere will consist of 25 shows, wrapping December 16. A complete list of dates can be found at U2.com.

Pink Floyd, Heart & more set the tone for Peacock’s ‘John Wick’ spinoff, ‘The Continental’

September 29, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

The second of three episodes of The Continental: From the World of John Wick is now streaming on Peacock.

Set in “the hell-scape of 1970s New York City,” it was up to director Albert Hughes, as well as Wick franchise producers Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and their production team, to recreate the bad old days of the Big Apple — very far from New York, no less.

One way of painting that landscape was through the music. The soundtrack is filled with hits from the era, from Heart to Gerry Rafferty to Pink Floyd. Hughes was the driving force behind it, and credits Peacock and Lionsgate with not pushing back, in spite of the hefty licensing fees.

Hughes explains to ABC Audio, “There was a certain budget for music at the beginning, and I go, like, ‘Oh you guys, it’s going to be three or four times that. There’s no way.'” One big chunk of that budget went to getting Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here track “Welcome To The Machine” for episode two; Hughes notes it was the most expensive song in the series.

To their credit, Hughes says the studios were all in. “I saw the music as a replacement for Keanu Reeves because I don’t have Keanu Reeves and a dead puppy,” he jokes. “So I need another kind of actor, you know, in theory, a personality, and it was the music. And it also helps with time and place and nostalgia, all that other good stuff.”

Trevor Rabin releases powerful new song, “Oklahoma”

September 29, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

Former Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin has released the brand new song “Oklahoma” from his upcoming album, Rio, which will be his first solo album of vocal material in 34 years.

Rabin says the song was inspired by the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.

“It traumatized the entire nation and will always be a dark day for the country,” Rabin shares. “Thirty plus years later I believed the time was right and OK to tackle the song I had written. It’s dedicated to family and friends who lost loved ones.”

You can listen to “Oklahoma” now via digital outlets and watch the video on YouTube.

Rio, named after Rabin’s granddaughter, is available for preorder now.

Elton John celebrates 50 years of ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ with Dolby Atmos mix

September 29, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

It’s been 50 years since Elton John released his now-classic album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and he’s giving fans a new way to enjoy it.

In honor of the anniversary, Elton has released the album in Dolby Atmos for the first time. Fans are now able to listen to tracks like “Bennie and the Jets,” “Candle In the Wind,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” the title track and more in high-definition sound.

Elton is also marking the anniversary with a new line of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road merchandise, including T-shirts, hoodies, mugs and sweatshirts.

You can listen to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road in Dolby Atmos via digital outlets.

Neil Young to reissue ‘Archives Vol. I: 1963-1972’ for the first time in over a decade

September 29, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

Neil Young launched his Archives series back in 2009 with Neil Young Archives Vol. I: 1963-1972, and fans who missed out on getting a copy now have a second chance. Young is set to reissue Archives Vol. 1 on November 10, marking the first time it’s been back in print in over a decade.

Like the original, the reissue will be released in its eight-CD format, with each CD getting its own custom sleeve. It also contains a 24-page booklet and Archives poster.

In addition to early Young recordings with the Squires, Buffalo Springfield, Crazy Horse and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the set contains music from Young’s early solo career. There are also three discs of live recordings: Live At The Riverboat (Toronto 1969), Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Live At The Fillmore East (New York 1970) and Live At Massey Hall (Toronto 1971).

The reissue of Neil Young Archives Vol. I: 1963-1972 will be available at Young’s Greedy Hand online store, at retail outlets and through most digital service providers. All Greedy Hand store purchases come with free hi-res digital audio downloads.

Jethro Tull releases alternative mixes of latest album, ‘RökFlöte’

September 29, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

Jethro Tull is giving fans a new way to enjoy their most recent album, RökFlöte. The band has just released alternative stereo mixes of the album, produced by Bruce Soord, to digital outlets.

“Now we have the Bruce Soord alternative stereo mixes to add, showing his different reading of the sounds and balances. Music is the ears of the beholder!” frontman Ian Anderson shares. “Good man, Bruce. Great job, Bruce.”

Jethro Tull released RökFlöte back in April. It was the band’s follow-up to 2022’s The Zealot Gene, which was their first new release in two decades.

Anderson shared that the album was “based on the characters and roles of some of the principle gods of the old Norse paganism,” noting it also explores “‘RökFlöte’ – rock flute – which Jethro Tull has made iconic.”

Jethro Tull is currently touring North America on their The Seven Decades tour. Their next show is happening Friday, September 29, in Lincoln, California. A complete list of dates can be found at jethrotull.com.

‘Queen The Greatest Live’ – Episode 35: “Freddie Mercury – Part 2”

September 29, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

Queen is once again turning the spotlight on their late frontman Freddie Mercury in episode 35 of their weekly YouTube series, Queen the Greatest Live.

Like last week’s episode, the band is sharing archival interview footage of Mercury. This time, he’s discussing the role he plays onstage with the band.

“I have to win them over or it’s not a successful gig,” he says. “It’s my job to make sure I win them over and make them feel they’ve had a good time. That’s part of my role, part of the duty that I have to do.”

He continues, “This cliché of saying, ‘Oh, you have them eating from the palm of your hand’ – I just feel that the quicker I do that, the better, because then I feel I can manipulate them or whatever,” adding, “But it’s all to do with me feeling in control as so that I know that it’s all going well.”

The clip features a 1974 performance of “Stone Cold Crazy” at London’s Rainbow Theatre, which shows Freddie in his element onstage in front of an audience.

“Everybody wants to play to the biggest audiences. I want to play to as many people as I can and the more the merrier,” he says. “So as far as I’m concerned, I like the whole world to listen to my music. And I want anybody and everybody to come and listen to me and look at me when I’m playing.”

Next week on Queen The Greatest Live: “Iconic Venues.”

Bruce Springsteen drops “Addicted To Romance” from new ‘She Came To Me’ movie

September 29, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

While Bruce Springsteen fans will have to wait until 2024 to see him live again, they at least have some new music to tide them over.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just released the new song “Addicted to Romance,” which will be featured in the movie She Came To Me starring Peter Dinklage, Marisa Tomei and Anne Hathaway.

When Springsteen’s participation was first announced back in February, the film’s director, Rebecca Miller, told Variety she “had a secret wish” that The Boss would write a song for the movie. “I was reluctant to ask because I felt it was so unlikely, and frankly I was a bit shy,” she shared, but she finally got up the nerve.

Springsteen and his wife, Patti Scialfa, watched the movie and loved it, so he wrote the song. Miller noted, “He says he was inspired by the film, which is a great honor for me.”

She Came To Me hits theaters October 6.

Listen to live versions of “Pennyroyal Tea” and “Scentless Apprentice” from Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’ reissue

September 29, 2023 by Classic Rock 93.9

Previously unreleased live versions of Nirvana‘s “Pennyroyal Tea” and “Scentless Apprentice” have been released.

Both recordings are included on the upcoming 30th anniversary reissue of the grunge icons’ 1993 album In Utero. The “Pennyroyal Tea” performance is from a December ’93 show in Los Angeles, while the “Scentless Apprentice” rendition was recorded during a January ’94 concert in Seattle.

The In Utero reissue is due out October 27. It includes remastered audio of the original album and its bonus tracks and B-sides, plus full recordings of the aforementioned LA and Seattle performances as well as various other live tracks.

The original In Utero marked Nirvana’s third and final album. Frontman Kurt Cobain passed away in April 1994, just months after the record was released.

(“Pennyroyal Tea” video contains uncensored profanity.)

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