The Clash’s ‘Combat Rock’ Anniversary Edition Revamps the Group’s Flawed, Fiery Swan Song: Album Review

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs part of the celebration around the late Lou Reed’s 80 th birthday, an album of his earliest demos — comprising a number of Velvet Underground classics recorded in 1965, along with several songs dating back to his college and teen years — will be released August 26 on Light in the Attic Records in partnership with Reed’s longtime partner Laurie Anderson.The album, titled “Words & Music, May 1965,” is the inaugural release from the Lou Reed Archive Series, and dovetails with the opening Thursday of an extensive Reed exhibit at the New York Public Library, titled “Lou Reed: Caught Between the Twisted Stars.” The album includes the earliest known recordings of such classics as “Heroin,” “Pale Blue Eyes,” “Iʼm Waiting for the Man” and several unreleased tracks. See the full tracklist below; listen to Reed’s 1965 demo of “I’m Waiting for the Man”:The bulk of the album is comprised of the 1965 tracks, which were recorded with the assistance of Reed’s future bandmate John Cale.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticIt’s hard to remember any performer who been so on top of the world as Post Malone who has gone to such lengths to convince us he’s bottoming out as Malone does in “Twelve Carat Toothache,” his fourth album. It’s a common lyrical trope that success breeds discontentment, and Malone has already trod some of that territory — four years and two albums ago, he was telling us he was “Rich & Sad.” But that song almost seems like a feint compared to where he’s at now.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAngel Olsen’s new album, “Big Time,” is the kind of rare, generation-spanning album that you could give to your sister, your aunt or your grandparents. Its 10 soulful, country-inflected songs recall everything from Dusty Springfield’s 1969 masterpiece, “Dusty in Memphis,” to Shelby Lynne’s 2001 Grammy-winning “I am Shelby Lynne,” from Tammy Wynette to Lucinda Williams — and at the center of it all are Olsen’s soaring songs and crystalline, versatile voice.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSome nine years after the release of their last album, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back with a killer new song, “Spitting Off the Edge of the World” and a new album, “Cool It Down,” due Sept. 30 on Secretly Canadian.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTo those who know, Patti Smith, pioneering punk poetess and rock star without peer or precedent, requires no introduction. But times change, generations succeed generations, and sometimes the world needs to be reminded of things like “Why Patti Smith Matters,” which is exactly the book that veteran music journalist Caryn Rose published yesterday via University of Texas Press. Rose, whose work has appeared in Pitchfork, Salon, the Village Voice, Vulture, Backstreets, the Guardian and Variety, explains, “I was eager to take on the formidable task of chronicling Patti Smith’s career because aside from Smith’s own work, the existing scholarship didn’t possess the kind of informed, careful perspective of her life and art that it deserves.” The book combines original research and primary sources — one of whom is Bruce Springsteen, who gave Rose an exclusive interview on the making of their 1978 hit song, “Because the Night.” A section of the book focusing on the song appears below.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFormer President Donald Trump has a long history of using music at his rallies against the wishes of the artists, and that continued with his speech at controversial National Rifle Association rally in Houston last weekend, which took place just three days and less than 300 miles from the site of the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, where 19 children and two adults were murdered, evoking yet more “thoughts and prayers” and nothing else from the Republican party.Trump capped his speech with Sam and Dave’s 1966 hit “Hold On, I’m Coming,” written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, which took on an even more tasteless meaning when one considers the phone calls from children in the school while police waited outside for more than half an hour before entering. A rep for Hayes’ estate said in a statement to Variety, “The estate and family of Isaac Hayes DID NOT approve and would NEVER approve the use of “Hold on I’m coming’” by Sam and Dave by Donald Trump at this weekend’s National Rifle Association  convention.Our condolences go out to the victims and families of #Uvalde and mass shooting victims everywhere.”Porter tweeted, “Hell to the NO! I did not and would NOT approve” of Trump using the song “for any of his purposes! I also know Isaac’s estate wouldn’t approve as well!”Someone shared with me Donald Trump used the song “Hold On I’m Coming” for a speaking appearance of his.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Band’s Robbie Robertson has issued a statement honoring Ronnie “Hawk” Hawkins, who died Sunday at the age of 87. Robertson and future members of the Band backed Hawkins in their formative years during the 1960s, before they toured with Bob Dylan and went on to become one of the most influential groups in rock history. Robertson’s statement follows below in full.My heart sank when I heard “The Hawk” just flew into the sunset. The story of The Band began with Ronnie Hawkins.

Alex Swhear “I love my country like a little boy,” Jeff Tweedy sings on “Cruel Country,” the title track of Wilco’s twelfth studio album. “I love my country, stupid and cruel.” That sentiment rears its head throughout “Cruel Country,” a sprawling, cozy double-LP.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSinger-songwriter and rabble-rouser M.I.A has signed with Island Records and returns with a brand-new track titled ‘The One.’ Produced by Rex Kudo & T-Minus. The track comes with confirmation that a new album titled ‘MATA’ is on the way.Listen to ‘The One’ below.  Undoubtedly, one of the most important and potent multi-medium artists of this millennium, M.I.A’s career spans 5 studio albums, international performances, multiple sold-out world tours, GRAMMY® and Academy Award recognition, while continuously pushing the boundaries of digital and ideological possibilities. M.I.Ahas never lost touch with her indelible punk spirit that inspired her glitching directorial debut; Elastica’s Mad Dog music video, to her self-directed tour visuals, graphics and NFT’s that continue to bend minds to this day.

Eminem has released an expanded edition of his fourth album ‘The Eminem Show’ to mark its 20th anniversary.Marshall Mathers dropped the original record – which features the hits ‘Without Me’, ‘Cleanin’ Out My Closet’ and ‘Sing For The Moment’ – on this day (May 26) in 2002. It reached Number One in the US and UK charts, and went on to be named Best Rap Album at the 2003 Grammys.To celebrate the LP turning 20 today, Eminem has released an extended version of ‘The Eminem Show’ via Shady Records/Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJustin Timberlake, one of the most successful pop singers of the past 20 years, has sold a song catalog to Hipgnosis Song Management, the company has announced.Hipgnosis has acquired 100% of all of Justin Timberlake’s copyright, ownership and financial interests of the writer and publisher’s share of public performance income, and the catalog of musical compositions written by Justin Timberlake, according to the announcement. Also included in the sale to Hipgnosis are the worldwide administration rights to the compositions, subject to the remaining term of Universal Music’s administration rights, which expire in 2025.

BLACKPINK singer Rosé has opened up about her thoughts on the future of the K-pop girl group.The Australian-Korean idol recently spoke with Rolling Stone as part of the girl group’s special cover edition with the news outlet, during which she opened up about her hopes for BLACKPINK’s future. When asked about whether she had ever thought about life after BLACKPINK, Rosé revealed that while she indeed has, she “[doesn’t] think it will be over”.“I grew up with them. They’re a part of me.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMyke Towers. Camilo and Sony Discos are among the big winners at the ASCAP “El Premio” Latin Music Awards, which take place virtually through Tuesday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor“This is a very special evening for me, for us,” Harry Styles said to a crowd of nearly 20,000 at the UBS Arena on Friday, and to millions over an Apple Music livestream. “We’re in New York City for one night only, and we’ll be playing this new album for you the way it was intended to be heard: From start to finish.”And with a giant neon outline of a house behind in, that’s what Styles and his tightly drilled band did: Premiere his just-released third solo album, “Harry’s House,” at a “One Night Only” concert, an arena-sized album release party offered for Styles’ most devoted fans (even if the title was a little bit of a misnomer: There’s a similar concert taking place in London next week).

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJust over five years ago, Harry Styles dropped a solo debut that absolutely no one saw coming, especially from a guy who had closed the door on his role as lead heartthrob in pop juggernaut One Direction only 18 months earlier. “Harry Styles” was a timeless, oddly genre-less album that sounded vaguely like a pop collection from the early 1970s, and like nothing else released that year.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor“We Cry Together” is probably the most conversation-stopping song on Kendrick Lamar’s brilliant and challenging fifth album “Mr. Morale & the High Steppers” — a horrifyingly realistic recreation of an argument in an abusive relationship that finds Lamar and actress Taylour Paige saying absolutely horrible things to each other, with her delivering an entire verse while sobbing, and apparently culminates with the two of them having sex.The most commonly cited precedent for “We Cry Together” is Eminem’s 2000 song “Kim,” an even more horrifying scenario in which he murders his real-life ex-wife.

Andrew Barker Senior Features Writer“I’ve been going through something.”These are the first words that Kendrick Lamar speaks on “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” and if the 19 songs that follow over the next 72 minutes are any indication, it’s quite an understatement. In the five years since he last released a proper album, 2017’s best-rapper-alive declaration “Damn,” Lamar became the first hip-hop artist to win the Pulitzer Prize, earned an Oscar nomination, launched a media company, performed at the Super Bowl, and announced his departure from TDE, the tight-knit label that has been his home and a key part of his identity since the very beginning.But “Mr.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music and the estate of Michael Jackson will observe the 40 th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s classic “Thriller,” the biggest selling album of all time (by most metrics), with the November 18 release of “Thriller 40”: a double CD set comprised of the original album and a second disc “full of surprises for fans, including never-released tracks which were worked on by Michael for the ‘Thriller’ album,” according to the announcement, which comes on the heels of 10 Tony nominations for “MJ the Musical,” which features several songs from the album.During its 112th week on Billboard’s album chart, “Thriller” became the first title ever to be certified 20-times platinum by the RIAA (on October 30, 1984), became the first title ever to be certified more than 30-times platinum in 2015, and since has been certified at 34-times platinum.Seven tracks from the album became Top 10 singles, and three, “Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” and “Thriller,” went No. 1.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorA day after his released his dense and complex “Mr.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLike virtually every major rock act in the mid-1970s, the Rolling Stones had become bloated and overblown. After the generation-defining singles of the ‘60s and the stellar string of albums running from “Beggars Banquet” to “Exile on Main Street,” they’d eked out three comparatively uninspired sets that, due to Keith Richards’ formidable heroin addiction and its multiple accompanying legal problems, found Mick Jagger seeking musical foils in guitarist Mick Taylor and then guest keyboardist Billy Preston.