Page 1290 – That Eric Alper

Simon Reynolds Explores Electronic Music’s Future Dreams in “Futuromania”

Music

Eric Alper

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May 24, 2025

Simon Reynolds Explores Electronic Music’s Future Dreams in “Futuromania”

A collection of writing by Simon Reynolds, centered on music that seemed, in its moment, to prefigure the Future.

Simon Reynolds’s first book in eight years is a celebration of music that feels like a taste of tomorrow. Sounds that prefigure pop music’s future—the vanguard genres and heroic innovators whose discoveries eventually get accepted by the wider mass audience. But it’s also about the way music can stir anticipation for a thrillingly transformed world just around the corner: a future that might be utopian or dystopian, but at least will be radically changed and exhilaratingly other.

Starting with an extraordinary chapter on Giorgio Moroder and Donna Summer, taking in illuminating profiles of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Boards of Canada, Burial, and Daft Punk, and arguing for Auto-Tune as the defining sound of 21st century pop, Futuromania shapes over two dozen essays and interviews into a chronological narrative of machine-music from the 1970s to now. Reynolds explores the interface between pop music and science fiction’s utopian dreams and nightmare visions, always emphasizing the quirky human individuals abusing the technology as much as the era-defining advances in electronic hardware and digital software.

A tapestry of the scenes and subcultures that have proliferated in that febrile, sexy, and contested space where man meets machine, Futuromania is an enthused listening guide that will propel readers towards adventures in sound. There is a lifetime of electronic listening here.

‘Rocky Mountain Highway’ by Lowell Norman Offers Rare Glimpse Into Life With John Denver

Music

Eric Alper

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May 24, 2025

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‘Rocky Mountain Highway’ by Lowell Norman Offers Rare Glimpse Into Life With John Denver

A powerful personal journey with multi-platinum country star John Denver, featuring intimate stories and never-before-seen photographs. This memoir from Lowell Norman, a close friend and videographer of the late star, offers a rare and fascinating look inside Denver’s successful but turbulent life.

The award-winning country star, John Denver was once described as a complicated man who wrote simple songs. In Rocky Mountain Highway, close friend and videographer, Lowell Norman reveals rare stories and never-before-seen photos of a John Denver that is at turns familiar and shockingly unexpected. He recounts the emotional live performances and the challenges of shooting such a big star. He describes in harrowing detail the frightening experience of being harassed by gun wielding soldiers with Denver on his tours of Africa for The Hunger Project. He tells the riveting story of dangling from a helicopter with a video camera while the intrepid singer tried to swim with humpback whales in the Pacific Ocean. Rocky Mountain Highway is a celebration of a young man following the dreams of a talented artist who was misunderstood by many and gone before his time.

Three Giants, One Sound: New Biography Explores the Jazz Legends Who Scored America’s Conscience

Music

Eric Alper

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May 24, 2025

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Three Giants, One Sound: New Biography Explores the Jazz Legends Who Scored America’s Conscience

From Larry Tye, the New York Times bestselling author of Satchel and Bobby Kennedy, a sweeping and spellbinding portrait of the longtime kings of jazz—Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie—who, born within a few years of one another, overcame racist exclusion and violence to become the most popular entertainers on the planet.

This is the story of three revolutionary American musicians, the maestro jazzmen who orchestrated the chords that throb at the soul of twentieth-century America.

Duke Ellington, the grandson of slaves who was christened Edward Kennedy Ellington, was a man whose story is as layered and nuanced as his name suggests and whose music transcended category.
Louis Daniel Armstrong was born in a New Orleans slum so tough it was called The Battlefield and, at age seven, got his first musical instrument, a ten-cent tin horn that drew buyers to his rag-peddling wagon and set him on the road to elevating jazz into a pulsating force for spontaneity and freedom.
William James Basie, too, grew up in a world unfamiliar to white fans—the son of a coachman and laundress who dreamed of escaping every time the traveling carnival swept into town, and who finally engineered his getaway with help from Fats Waller.

What is far less known about these groundbreakers is that they were bound not just by their music or even the discrimination that they, like nearly all Black performers of their day, routinely encountered. Each defied and ultimately overcame racial boundaries by opening America’s eyes and souls to the magnificence of their music. In the process they wrote the soundtrack for the civil rights movement.

Based on more than 250 interviews, this exhaustively researched book brings alive the history of Black America in the early-to-mid 1900s through the singular lens of the country’s most gifted, engaging, and enduring African-American musicians.

Joan Baez Opens Her Heart in Intimate Poetry Collection ‘When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance’

Music

Eric Alper

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May 24, 2025

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Joan Baez Opens Her Heart in Intimate Poetry Collection ‘When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance’

An intimate, autobiographical poetry collection from legendary artist and activist, Joan Baez.

Joan Baez shares poems for or about her contemporaries (such as Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, and Jimi Hendrix), reflections from her childhood, personal thoughts, and cherished memories of her family, including pieces about her younger sister, singer-songwriter Mimi Fariña. Speaking to the people, places, and moments that have had the greatest impact on her art, this collection is an inspiring personal diary in the form of poetry.

While Baez has been writing poetry for decades, she’s never shared it publicly. Poems about her life, her family, about her passions for nature and art, have piled up in notebooks and on scraps of paper. Now, for the first time ever, her life is shared revealing pivotal life experiences that shaped an icon, offering a never-before-seen look into the reminiscences and musings of a great artist.

Like a late-night chat with someone you love, this collection connects fans to the real heart of who Joan Baez is as a person, as a daughter and sister, and as an artist who has inspired millions.

Pop Hitmaker benny blanco Serves Laughs, Love, and Lobster Rolls in Debut Cookbook

Music

Eric Alper

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May 24, 2025

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Pop Hitmaker benny blanco Serves Laughs, Love, and Lobster Rolls in Debut Cookbook

The debut cookbook from benny blanco—pop music super-producer, artist, actor on FXX’s Dave, and consummate food freak—teaches you everything you need to know about cooking, enjoying life, and throwing the greatest dinner party of all time.

Hi, I’m benny blanco. I’m in a television show with my best friend Dave and I probably produced most of the songs you have heard on the radio from 2008 until now. When I was thirteen, my friend got a George Foreman Grill and it changed my life forever. We would invite friends over, get stoned, and make the most elaborate sandwiches our prepubescent minds could fathom. I became obsessed with food and cooking for friends.

I know what you are going to say, and I get it. Cooking is scary. But I promise you, once you get into it, it will be your new addiction. Slicing an onion is like taking a Xanax to me. I made this cookbook to teach you everything I know about food, cooking, and throwing the greatest dinner party of all time. There are the basics to get your kitchen ready, a little advice from my expert friends, then all of the dinner party menus I love to make, like:

5 Dishes to Get You Laid and One for the Morning After
I Wish I Were an Italian Grandma
Take Me to the Cheesy Rodeo
F*ck Morton’s Steakhouse

Which are filled with insane recipes like:

Lose Your Mind Lobster Rolls
“I Might Go Vegetarian” Veggie Sandwich
Chicken Cutlets with Honey, Peppers, and Parm
“I Hope We Didn’t Make a Baby” Breakfast Burrito.

I’ve been told some of the finest stories over meals. I’ve laughed so hard I thought I was going to actually die. I’ve fallen in love—sometimes with the food, sometimes with the person across the table. I’ve cried in good ways, and I’ve cried in bad ways. I hope you’ve been lucky enough to have all these same memories and then some. But if you haven’t, I can make you a promise. If you follow these three simple steps, it will all become a reality: Open this book. Open your heart. And open wide, baby.

The Ting Tings Bring Sun-Kissed Harmonies And Embrace A New Dreamy Sound On ‘HOME’

Music

Eric Alper

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May 23, 2025

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The Ting Tings Bring Sun-Kissed Harmonies And Embrace A New Dreamy Sound On ‘HOME’

The Ting Tings, Jules De Martino & Katie White, return with ‘DREAMING’ the newest single to be taken from their forthcoming album ‘HOME’, the first long-player in six years.

‘HOME’ sees the band embracing sun-kissed West Coast 1970s harmonies and exquisitely turned arrangements inspired by Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, Dire Straits, Joni Mitchell and the Eagles, to name but a few. The Ting Tings return to the UK this June for two special shows in London and their home town of Manchester. The gigs, at EartH Theatre in London on 9th June and Manchester Gorilla on 13th June, follow the band’s rapturously received sold-out shows at London’s famous Bush Hall.

Talking about ‘DREAMING’, Jules says that the new direction was such a dramatic sea change that they even considered changing the band’s name “I remember the moment on Dreaming which was really crucial in terms of the final song. We were already singing the word, “Dreaming …” which prompted the question, “Well, what are we dreaming about?” I remember in the process of putting the lyrics down, Katie sang about changing our name. We had talked about that”. Katie also had another take on the words “Really, it could be about any situation where you find yourself asking, “Can I wipe the slate clean and start again?”

‘HOME’ also features the single, ‘GOOD PEOPLE DO BAD THINGS’, which is currently charting at #6 on the TikTok Music Charts and has currently been used on more than 650,000 videos.

All of this comes amid a major wave of momentum for their 2008 hit “That’s Not My Name” which is currently featured in the new Netflix film The Life List (March 28 release). Since the premiere, the track has seen over 2 MILLION new Spotify streams, and Shazam activity has seen a tenfold increase. With over 5 million TikTok videos and placement on 240,000+ Spotify playlists, the track continues to fuel The Ting Tings’ creative freedom—and sets the stage for their anticipated return.

Formed in the creative scene of Salford, Manchester in the early 2000s, independent souls De Martino and White were thrust to international success with UK chart-topper ‘That’s Not My Name’ along with its parent double platinum album ‘We Started Nothing’ and nominations for Brits, Grammys, winning album of the year Ivor’s and MTV awards. In the US, That’s Not My Name surpassed one million sales following its use in an iPod ad, as did the follow-up ‘Shut Up And Let Me Go’.

Having continuously moved around during album cycles from the UK to Los Angeles to Berlin, De Martino and White found Ibiza as their home and have lived there for many years. After having their daughter during the pandemic, they sought succour in the foundational musical touchstones of their childhoods. As a band that has always self-written and produced, they walked into their home studio and asked themselves a simple question? In this new world of profound uncertainty, what felt good? The resulting songs are on the new album, HOME.

THE TING TINGS HOME TRACKLIST:
Good People Do Bad Things
Dreaming
Home
Goodbye Song
Winning
In My Hand
Dance On The Wire
Song For Meadow
Mind Thunder
Down

THE TINGS TINGS LIVE:
IBIZA – CAN JORDI BLUES STATION 22nd MAY
LONDON – EartH THEATRE 9th JUNE
MANCHESTER – GORILLA 13th JUNE
PORTUGAL – VILAR DE MOUROS FESTIVAL 23rd AUGUST

5 Surprising Facts About Roger Nichols, The Quiet Architect of Pop Classics

Eric Alper

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May 23, 2025

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5 Surprising Facts About Roger Nichols, The Quiet Architect of Pop Classics

Today, Roger Nichols, Grammy-nominated co-writer of “We’ve Only Just Begun,” passed away peacefully at the age of 84, surrounded by his beloved wife Terry and daughters Claire and Caitlin. While his name may not be as instantly recognized as the Carpenters or Paul Anka, Nichols’ songwriting legacy helped shape the sound of American pop in the 1970s—and beyond. Here are five lesser-known facts about the man behind some of pop’s most enduring melodies.

1. “We’ve Only Just Begun” Was Born From a Bank Commercial
The iconic Carpenters ballad was never meant to top charts. It started as a jingle for Crocker Bank, with Paul Williams singing. Richard Carpenter heard it on TV and called to ask if it was a full song. It wasn’t—but Nichols and Williams said yes anyway, finishing it just in time to change pop history.

2. His 1968 Debut Album Was a Who’s Who of Future Legends
Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends wasn’t a hit on the Billboard 200, but it featured contributions from Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, and Lenny Waronker. Engineered by Bruce Botnick and produced by Tommy LiPuma, the album became a cult classic and caught the ear of A&M co-founder Herb Alpert.

3. He Quietly Scored Major Commercial Successes
Nichols co-wrote Paul Anka’s “Times of Your Life,” which originated in a Kodak commercial. The sentimental ballad hit #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976. Like “We’ve Only Just Begun,” it was a perfect example of Nichols’ ability to turn quiet moments into universal anthems.

4. He Was a Celebrated Songwriter in Japan
Though retired from the mainstream spotlight, Nichols enjoyed a loyal fanbase in Japan. His 1995 release Be Gentle With My Heart—a Japan-only CD featuring re-recordings of his classics—cemented his enduring international appeal. Paul Williams even guested on vocals for “Rainy Days and Mondays.”

5. Music Ran in the Family, But So Did Jewelry
Beyond songwriting, Nichols was also a successful jeweler. Creativity clearly ran in his blood—his brother, Ted Nichols, composed for Hanna-Barbera and served briefly as musical director for the iconic animation studio.

Roger Nichols’ passing marks the end of an era for those who remember the gentle pop craftsmanship of the ’70s. But as Paul Williams beautifully wrote in tribute, Nichols gave the world “love and beauty”—and for those walking down the aisle to “We’ve Only Just Begun,” dancing to “Times of Your Life,” or reflecting to “Rainy Days and Mondays,” his music is anything but forgotten.

Chris Rea’s ‘New Light Through Old Windows’ Returns on Vinyl for First Time Since 1988

Music

Eric Alper

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May 23, 2025

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Chris Rea’s ‘New Light Through Old Windows’ Returns on Vinyl for First Time Since 1988

Back on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 1988, Chris Rea‘s first ever compilation ‘New Light Through Old Windows’ has been remastered onto recycled double-LP and CD and will be reissued on 11th July 2025. Available to pre-order now: http://lnk.to/ChrisreaNLTOW

On its original release, Rea re-recorded a number of tracks from his earlier albums especially for ‘New Light Through Old Windows’ and it also included a brand new track ‘Working On It’.

The album proved to be a huge hit breaking into the UK top 5 and staying in the charts for over a year. It also found chart success around the world including singles ‘Working On It’ topping the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and ‘On The Beach’ breaking into the Top 10 of the US Adult Contemporary Singles chart. The album has been certified triple-platinum in the UK and contains some of Rea’s best known tracks including ‘Fool (If You Think It’s Over)’ and ‘Driving Home for Christmas, the latter of which is the now famed version that dominates Christmas every year.

This was Rea’s tenth album (although it is not often listed in his discography as an album with it being a compilation) and his tenth album in as many years. It was an incredibly prolific decade for him with his debut album ‘Whatever Happened To Benny Santini’ being released in 1978 his non-stop touring and recording schedule had seen his unique guitar playing and voice make him a major star throughout Europe. ‘New Light Through Old Windows’ became the precursor to his biggest selling album to date ‘Road To Hell’ in 1989 which catapulted his reputation in the US.

Rea has recorded 25 studio albums to date and sold over 40 millions albums.

Tracklist:
Side A
Let’s Dance
Working On It
Ace Of Hearts
Josephine

Side B
Candles
On The Beach
Fool (If You Think It’s Over)

Side C
I Can Hear Your Heartbeat
Shamrock Diaries
Stainsby Girls

Side D
Windy Town
Driving Home For Christmas
Steel River

Green Day Supercharge Summer With Deluxe Edition of ‘Saviors’

Music

Eric Alper

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May 23, 2025

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Green Day Supercharge Summer With Deluxe Edition of ‘Saviors’

Global rock superstars Green Day – Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool – reup, recharge, and reignite their GRAMMY Award Award-nominated 14th studio album, Saviors, with a brand new (édition de luxe) out today.

Saviors (édition de luxe) includes 7 new tracks in total, including 2 acoustic versions of “Suzie Chapstick” and “Father to a Son,” and 5 new tracks such as “Smash It Like Belushi,” “Fuck Off,” “Stay Young,” “Ballyhoo,” and “Underdog.”

Released in January 2024, Saviors found Green Day teaming up again with GRAMMY Award-winning producer Rob Cavallo, who famously helmed Dookie and American Idiot. The record bowed at #4 on the Billboard 200, marking the band’s 9th career entry in the Top 5 of the respective chart. Saviors received massive critical acclaim upon release and notably garnered three 2025 GRAMMY Award nominations, including “Best Rock Album” and “Best Rock Performance” for “The American Dream Is Killing Me” and “Best Rock Song” for “Dilemma.”

Saviors cemented Green Day as the #1 most-played artist at both US Alternative and US Rock radio in 2024. Saviors also delivered three #1 Alternative hits—their biggest showing since American Idiot—and two #1 Rock hits. “Dilemma” became a juggernaut, ranking as the #3 most-played song at Alternative radio in 2024 and only falling off the charts due to recurrent rules. Meanwhile, their latest single “One Eyed Bastard” is quickly climbing the charts, searching for their fourth #1 hit from this record.

Last year, Green Day dominated stadiums worldwide on their massive sold-out Saviors Tour. They continued into the new year, having just conquered venues across Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Malaysia. For the first time ever, the band delivered thrilling back-to-back sets of Dookie and American Idiot from top-to-bottom in celebration of the former’s 30th birthday and the latter’s 20th birthday, as well as performed new cuts from Saviors. The Saviors Tour marked Green Day’s biggest tour of their illustrious 30+ year career.

Most recently, Green Day was honored with their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The ceremony was emcee’d by Matt Pinfield, with actor/producer Ryan Reynolds and long-time producer Rob Cavallo as guest speakers.

Earlier this year, Green Day delivered unforgettable headlining sets at this year’s Coachella and they plan to bring the same powerful energy to their headlining set at BottleRock Napa Valley tonight. Additionally, the band is set to light up the global festival circuit this year with headliner slots at Riot Fest, Oceans Calling Festival, Ohana Festival, as well as UK’s Download Festival, Sao Paolo’s The Town, Ejekt Festival in Athens, Greece, and more. Full tour routing HERE.

Your Saviors summer is about to receive a deluxe upgrade. Buckle up!

Formed in 1986 in Berkeley, CA, Green Day is one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time, with more than 75 million records sold worldwide and 10 billion cumulative audio/visual streams. The five-time Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees released their breakout album Dookie in 1994, which sold over 10 million and achieved 10x Platinum Diamond status, is widely credited with popularizing and reviving mainstream interest in punk rock, catapulting a career-long run of #1 hit singles. Entertainment Weekly calls Green Day, “The most influential band of their generation,” while Rolling Stone attests, “Green Day have inspired more young bands to start than any act this side of Kiss, and that doesn’t seem to be changing.” In 2004, Green Day released the rock opera American Idiot which captured the nation’s attention, selling more than 8 million copies in the U.S. alone and taking home the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. Mojo declared “It’s exhilarating stuff, the kind of record that sets new parameters as to what is possible from a punk rock’n’roll band in the 21st century.” In 2010, a stage adaptation of American Idiot debuted on Broadway to critical and commercial acclaim. Released in 2020, Green Day’s thirteenth studio album Father Of All… debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Album Sales Chart and #1 in both the U.K. and Australia. Pitchfork declared, “Green Day’s most fetching and youthful songs in ages. The trio sounds reinvigorated, more like hungry newcomers staking their claim.” In July 2021, Green Day embarked on The Hella Mega Tour (w/ Fall Out Boy & Weezer). The global tour included 29 sold-out stadium gigs – including renowned venues like London Stadium and Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium. On January 19, ‘24, the band released their highly anticipated 14th studio album, Saviors, which includes hit singles, “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” which reached #1 on Billboard Rock & Alternative Airplay, and “Dilemma.” The album debuted at #1 on seven different Billboard charts and marked their fifth #1 in the UK. Saviors received widespread critical praise, with Rolling Stone describing it as “huge songs and snotty satire for a world on fire,” while The New York Times hailed it as “a decisive, even overdetermined return to form.” The New Yorker summed it up best with “It’s Green Day’s world now.” In 2024, Green Day embarked on a sold-out global stadium tour – The Saviors Tour – where they played Dookie and American Idiot in their entirety, along with other Saviors cuts and fan favorites. The Saviors Tour came to a triumphant close as it serves as Green Day’s biggest tour of their illustrious 30+ year career.

Saviors (édition de luxe) Tracklist:
1. The American Dream Is Killing Me
2. Look Ma, No Brains!
3. Bobby Sox
4. One Eyed Bastard
5. Dilemma
6. 1981
7. Goodnight Adeline
8. Coma City
9. Corvette Summer
10. Suzie Chapstick
11. Strange Days Are Here to Stay
12. Living in the ’20s
13. Father to a Son
14. Saviors
15. Fancy Sauce
16. Smash It Like Belushi
17. Stay Young
18. Fuck Off
19. Ballyhoo
20. Suzie Chapstick (Acoustic)
21. Father to a Son (Acoustic)
22. Underdog