All posts by Derek Phillips

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POLJUNK: Don’t Be A Fucking Idiot

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POLJUNK, the National Affairs desk of Glorious Noise

Welp, the stage is set for the 2024 presidential election and it’s the rematch we all knew was coming. With Nikki Haley “suspending” (a misnomer for quitting) her campaign this week after getting trounced in a primary that was a race in name only, Donald J. Trump is once again the Republican nominee for president. Yes…we’re doing this again.

With a shift to the general election comes a shift in messaging, usually. The most worn general election message is one that asks, “Are you better of today than you were four years ago?” It’s a simple question and one that gets trotted out every four years like clockwork. It’s one that House GOP Conference chair and all-around goofball Elise Stefanik had the gall to ask this week. Let’s see, what was going on in March of 2020…?

Answer to Elise Stafanik asking if you're better off today than four years ago.

Oh right…that.

And lest ye forget, COVID was just the latest in a four-year shitfest of chaos and madness that defined the Trump years. Here’s a quick reminder of the damage he left behind:

  • America’s global image was in shambles and he nearly broke NATO
  • Family separations and the deaths of migrant children at the border. You know…the one he was going to build a wall on and have Mexico pay for it. That didn’t happen either
  • Unilateral withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, created chaos throughout the Middle East we’re still dealing with
  • His decision to pull US troops out of northern Syria in October 2019, abandoning the Kurds
  • Replacing the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). Oh wait, that didn’t happen because the ACA provides coverage and requirements for coverage for millions of Americans and the big, beautiful replacement that was forever “two weeks” from delivery never materialized
  • The economy faltered, even though President Obama delivered years of growth. As Business Insider said, “As Trump left office, the US national debt was at the highest levels since World War II. And US economic growth was set to average just above 0% for Trump’s first term because of the pandemic recession, according to The Washington Post.”
  • The dipshit was impeached TWICE and let off by a compliant Republican Senate who seem to have forgotten they represent an equal branch of government and are supposed to stand as a check against just this kind of bullshit
  • The end of Roe v. Wade (which he sometimes brags about and sometimes pretends is someone else’s fault, depending on the audience) means our sister, daughters, nieces and friends have fewer rights to body autonomy than anyone in America in 50 years

I could seriously go on with this list for pages and pages, but you get it. He was awful. Not just on policy either. He was a terrible executive manager and an even worse human being. He’s garbage.

Just imagine what a second Trump administration would be like, especially if the Supreme Court actually endorses his insane idea of absolute Presidential immunity. He’s told us what he would do with that. They told us to “take him seriously, but not literally” and then January 6 happened. And he’s said he’ll be a dictator on Day One, so…

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New Liam Gallagher and John Squire: Mars To Liverpool

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Video: Liam Gallagher & John Squire – “Mars To Liverpool”

From Liam Gallagher John Squire, out March 1.

The second single from dream team Gallagher-Squire is out and starts with a warbly solo straight out of the Silvertone-era of the Stone Roses and shimmies into a catchy chorus, the likes of which first made Liam Gallagher a star. I like that these two know what they do well and double-down and triple-down on it for all the chips on the table.

It was trendy–nay, required–that famous people of the 90s hate being famous. Not for Liam Gallagher or his now estranged brother. If anyone loved being famous it was the Gallaghers, and they let you know it in every interview. So it’s no surprise to me to see Liam lean on that fame with a video stuffed to the brim with clips from his days in Oasis and Squire’s days in the Stone Roses. They know why we’re interested in this partnership and they’re going to deliver it until we’re sweaty and tired.

The first two singles from the duo have piqued interest enough that I am genuinely excited for the release of the full monty. I’m old enough not to care if it doesn’t hit the same highs as their previous bands and will be happy to sit back and pick from it what I can. Gallagher and Squire will happily serve it in splatters and swells.

Liam Gallagher: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.
John Squire: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.
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New Johnny Marr: The Answer

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Video: Johnny Marr – “The Answer”

Directed by Phillip Osborne. From Spirit Power: The Best of Johnny Marr, out now.

Everyone’s favorite guitarist (or at least everyone’s favorite Smith) continues to plug away on both his solo career and as the most sought-after guest musician this side of Dave Grohl. With 37 years of post-Smiths work in his back pocket now, Johnny Marr has certainly earned a “Best of…” collection and Spirit Power pulls from just the last decade to deliver 24 tracks, including two brand new ones.

The latest single, “The Answer,” bears a family resemblance to one of The Smiths’ most raucous numbers, “London,” with an aggressive, driving beat punching from Marr’s guitar. But like most of us, the resemblance is limited; features softening and sharpening with each generation. Lyrically, the song is a bit of a mess with lines like, “Put your mamma in them lows.” I have no idea what that means but I also don’t listen to Johnny for his witticisms. Oscar Wilde, he ain’t.

And while Johnny may benefit from having a musical foil, I am not sure anyone would look at the split with Morrissey and ask, “do you think you’ve made the right decision this time?”

So turn up the volume and ride on the riff for a bit with a really ragged notion that you’ll return. In Johnny’s world, the trains run on time.

Johnny Marr: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

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This is the One: Manchester United and Stone Roses Collab

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A few years ago a friend and coworker asked me, a dedicated Beatles fanatic, why I would support Manchester City as my Premier League team. Shouldn’t it be Liverpool, if anyone? Well, I guess so, yeah. But I told him that my gateway to EPL wasn’t the Fabs at all, but an entirely different branch of my musical family tree: Johnny Marr. Because he was a very vocal City fan and I was a very vocal fan of his, I went the way of the Blue.

But all family trees are complicated and sometimes families disagree. And so it comes with great frustration that a new collab from The Stone Roses is not with City, but their cross-town rivals, Manchester United!

Launched this week with a cool short video featuring players from throughout United’s modern era lauding the Old Trafford (the Man U home pitch) over The Stone Roses’ “This Is The One” is a handy piece of marketing. Football/Soccer culture is steeped in tradition and nostalgia, so it’s a pretty nice stroke to create this pairing. James Holroyd, Chief Commercial Development Officer at Manchester United, summed it up: “This collection recognises our joint histories in a way that connects with both older fans and the new generation of supporters.”

Watch the video below and check out the entire line here.

 

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New Wilco: Meant To Be

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Video: Wilco – “Meant To Be”

Directed by Joey Garfield. From Cousin, out now on dBpm.

Growing up in the suburbs of Grand Rapids, Michigan I spent a lot of time in skating rinks. In the summer, my local rink Wheel-A-While would host all kinds of specials. We did everything from temperature night (the price was whatever the mercury hit for a high that day), to flashlight night (exactly what you think), to all-night lock-ins where you would skate until you dropped and then looked for the least disgusting piece of carpet to catch a few winks. It was pre-teen suburban boot camp and suffice it to say, I developed some skills.

Years passed and we all grow up. I eventually moved to Chicago, having long packed my skates away in mothballs. But then it happened: A friend had her birthday party at the now dearly departed Rainbo Roller Rink on Clark. I was in my early 30s by this point but giddy to dazzle my friends with my dormant, but still very much present skating skills. And dazzle, I did. It was a glorious night where I glided and swayed to the beat of the music, pulling off a spin here and there for dramatic effect. It was a night dreams are made of.

For their latest single, “Meant to Be,” Chicago’s own Wilco set up camp in the middle of a rink where they are encircled by skaters with greater skills and silkier fluidity than I ever honed on Plainfield Avenue. And while “Meant to Be” is catchy in that old familiar Wilco way, the real show-stoppers are the rollers in the video. May they forever run or at  least wheel-a-while longer.

Wilco: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.
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New MGMT: Nothing To Declare

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Video: MGMT – “Nothing To Declare”

Directed by Joey Frank. From Loss Of Life, out February 23 on Mom+Pop.

With a lilting ditty that could be a sonic sister to 2010’s “Congratulations,” our heroes are back to tickle our senses and bob our heads once again. “Nothing to Declare” has all the hallmarks one would expect from MGMT, including clever lyrics like “Nothing to declare/Not in the bags under my eyes,” which leads me to wonder if the party pop band from the mid-oughts aren’t still dipping their toes in the punch from time to time?

But let’s talk about the video for a bit because I think it’s one they want us to talk about. We follow a gal as she navigates some travel from Pittsburgh to gay Paris. And the navigation is the interesting part as she has no arms. I only mention that because as an able-bodied fella with all the original equipment, it is interesting (to me) to see how one without arms manages everyday tasks like showing your passport, flipping down your airplane seat tray, or even just sipping a cup of coffee without the use of hands or arms. There’s more than one shot of people in the video similarly interested, if not bemused, which makes me think it was intentional to use someone otherly-abled and therefore worth the mention. As you might guess, she manages it all perfectly well and is just another young person having fun and on an adventure.

There has always been a strange tint of youth to MGMT’s music. Not entirely without that hint of danger that defines adventure either. “Nothing to Declare” carries the same scent and makes me sad not to be young, while happy for my own adventures. Go see the world, kids. You can’t tell people what you didn’t do–that’s not a story.

MGMT: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.
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New Kula Shaker: Natural Magick

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Video: Kula Shaker – “Natural Magick”

Directed by Crispian Mills. From Natural Magick, out February 2 on Strange F.O.L.K.

Brit Pop aficionados will remember the time between The Stone Roses’ eponymous first album and their follow-up, The Second Coming, as “the one hundred year drought.” We clamored for whatever we could get our hands on that would even remotely moisten our sun-dried lips and usually ended up with The Charlatans (who were fantastic, don’t get me wrong).

Even in the years following The Second Coming, other bands attempted to fill that lemon-sized hole, including Kula Shaker. A funky party of a band, Kula Shaker had some success with their eastern-infused tub thumpers like “Tattva”, “Hey Dude”, “Govinda”, “Hush”, and “Sound of Drums.” But critics hated them and they broke up for a while, reformed, and broke up again.

Now they’re back (for now) with another bong water soup of a song that is sure to get your flares swaying. Backed with a retro video, these guys know how to tap the sentimentality vein and pump it full. I am here for it.

Kula Shaker: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.
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New Liam Gallagher and John Squire: Just Another Rainbow

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Video: Liam Gallagher & John Squire – “Just Another Rainbow”

Directed by Charles Mehling. Single out now.

Nostalgia is a tricky thing. The idea of focusing on a time gone by is by definition counter to innovation. But there’s also something very charming–and honest–about wearing your influences on your sleeves. That’s something both Liam Gallagher and John Squire know having each been in era-defining bands from Manchester. Dum dums will dismiss Gallagher’s Oasis as Beatles knock-offs while praising Squire’s Stone Roses, a band equally influenced by music of yore. Again…it’s tricky.

And so it should come as no surprise that the first single from this mega-match-up sounds familiar. Liam is Liam and he plays the part well with equal parts snotty brashness and melodic panache. The old boy doesn’t change much and God bless him for it. Likewise, John Squire can still whip out psychedelic splashes of guitar wizardry that can shock and then lull you in rapid repetition. Gallagher-Squire is a combo that works.

Backed by producer and bassist Greg Kurstin and drummer Joey Waronker, “Just Another Rainbow” is the first of a promised album of new material. And while Kurstin and Waronker are no Mani and Reni, if you squint your eyes just enough you can almost make out the silhouette of a bucket hat through the smoke.

Liam Gallagher: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.
John Squire: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.
Articles

Worlds Collide: Liam Gallagher and John Squire Team Up

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If you‘ve watched any documentaries on the nascent punk scene in England in the 70s you have heard the story of how it seems every band that mattered had its start at one event: Sex Pistols’ appearance at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England, on June 4, 1976. Accounts vary, of course because that’s how legends are, but it’s generally agreed that around 40 people were at this event. And despite a relatively small showing, the number of bands formed from this one event is astonishing. They include Joy Division, The Smiths and The Fall, all who had members in attendance at the show. It was a watershed moment for indie and punk music and a watershed moment for Manchester in particular.

Fast forward 20-odd years and you have another watershed moment with The Stone Roses at Spike Island, an event that looms large in brit pop history and can also be pinned as the moment Oasis formed as an idea. 

“Maybe it was the drugs, but I think it was the music as well. I remember seeing them at Blackpool, Spike Island, and it was just… it’s youth, innit – you look back and nothing will ever compare to it: you’re young, you’ve got no kids, if you’ve got a job, who gives a fuck? You’ve got no bills to pay, you’re going back home to your mam, she’s cooking you breakfast, fucking life is free and easy, you know what I mean? And when you hear it, you go back to them times.” 

This is what Liam Gallagher said when serving as editor of the first edition of NME Gold– a 100-page selection of exclusive interviews and features. Noel Gallagher was there too and has gone as far as describing the Stone Roses at Spike Island as “the blueprint” for Oasis. It was…a moment.

And now it’s come full circle with Liam Gallagher and The Stone Roses guitarist John Squire announcing a new album, and a single out next month. Gallagher in particular has been teasing this partnership for months in tweets and interviews, but it seems we’re finally Here Now.

Supergroups are a tricky thing. Great tastes don’t always taste great together, but I’m excited to hear it and am happy to just to see John Squire putting out new music. 

The first single, “Just Another Rainbow,” will be released on Jan. 5 and a 7? can be pre-ordered via their website. 

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Mantra of the Cosmos: X (Wot You Sayin?)

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Video: Mantra of The Cosmos – “X (Wot You Sayin?)”

Directed by Olli Ryder. Single out now.

If you’re like me, you probably find yourself pretty regularly wondering, “Goddamn–I wonder what Shaun Ryder is up to?” Well, he’s still twisting melons and he’s brought Bez along too.

The Happy Mondays frontman has teamed up with Bez (Happy Mondays, exercise guru), Andy Bell (Ride, Oasis) and Zak Starkey (Oasis, The Who, Ringo offspring) to cook up a brew of “psychedelic poetry” mixed with latter-day House grooves. With two singles out to date and a spot performing at Glasto, it’s unclear how far they’ll take this ride but sound is what you’d expect–satisfyingly so!

Just don’t call it a super group, ’cause that’s for fucking wankers.

Mantra Of The Cosmos: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.