Novemember 2023 News

By MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER




Some of the best titles to keep an eye out for beginning next Friday at your local record shop.

Do people even go out for Black Friday anymore?

It seems that over the past several years, between consumer exhaustion, the pandemic and backlash at turning a holiday that's supposed to be about gathering with the family into a celebration of profit, the masses have, at the very least, turned to online shopping instead.

Of course, there are still reasons to venture out on the day after Thanksgiving, especially if you're supporting independent businesses like mom-and-pop record stores.

The organizers behind Record Store Day, the music lovers' holiday that takes place annually in April, have doubled down with Black Friday, featuring fresh pressings from dozens of artists, nearly all of them limited or on colored vinyl.

And while it isn't nearly on par with the juggernaut of the spring, the wax-centric fête has grown in scope, so much so that Rock Music Menu will be looking at this year's highlights both this week and next.

Here are some of the best titles to keep an eye out for beginning next Friday at your local record shop.

JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS: "Mindsets"
JOAN JETT and the Blackheart's latest effort â€" originally a digital EP released in June â€" features six brand new originals plus live versions of those tracks. The album, limited to 2,900 copies, serves as a reminder of what the band is all about: the perfect blend of punk and rock ‘n' roll that feels timeless and immediate at once. Single "If You're Blue" kicks off the EP with Jett's signature crunchy, distortion-forward guitar, hooky chorus, and her powerful, snarling vocals. It's a voice the remains a force to be reckoned with, full of attitude and emotion.

Maximum Swing: "The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings"
Resonance Records celebrates legendary jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery's centennial with the first legitimate release of his hard-hitting 1965 dates at New York's Half Note, site of a storied meeting between he and pianist Wynton Kelly and his trio. This three-LP archival treasure comes in a gatefold jacket with an elaborate booklet containing rare photos, essays and interviews with Bill Frisell and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl and limited to 3,000 copies.

By Elle Palmer | Photo by Alamy




Many have tried and failed to recreate The Beach Boys. The Californian surfers have been emulated in countless covers of 'God Only Knows' and in every generation of pop since the 1960s. But beyond taking inspiration from their heavenly harmonies and their innovative production techniques, JOAN JETT once successfully reunited The Beach Boys in the studio for a song titled 'Good Music'.

After spending the early part of the decade crafting hits like 'Surfin' U.S.A', Brian Wilson became overwhelmed by the pressures of fame, and his mental health began to suffer. Between a regretful introduction to LSD, internal lawsuits, and several commercial failures, Wilson began to gradually withdraw. By the 1980s, the relationships within the band seemed fractured, or so thought writer and producer KENNY LAGUNA.

In the mid-1980s, Laguna was working with JOAN JETT on the title track for her fifth studio record, Good Music. Over characteristically rocking guitars, Jett's distinctive voice declares: "It always feels so good to hear good music." Behind her words, the subtle but instantly recognisable harmonies of The Beach Boys can be heard. Their presence only increases throughout 'Good Music' - as it draws to a close, their characteristic "oohs" cut through recognisable twangy guitars.

"We wanted The Beach Boys," Laguna told Songfacts, but they were under the impression that the band were not all willing to be in the same room together. Instead of attempting to recruit them all, Laguna asked Carl Wilson to play guitar in the second verse of the song. He brought Bruce Johnson with him, which invoked envy in Mike Love.

"I'd been told by their agent that if you try to get all The Beach Boys, they will not be in the same room together," Laguna recalled, "They don't even make their records in the studio together." But hearing that two of his bandmates were in the studio with Jett, Love implored his tour manager to give Laguna a call.

"Their tour manager calls me in the studio and says, 'Mike [Love] is feeling left out," Laguna explained, "He's wondering why you didn't invite him.' I told him the story, that I heard if I invite all of them, nobody will come. So the next thing I know, all The Beach Boys are showing up." With Johnson, Love, Wison, and even Darlene Love all on side, it seemed that Jett and Laguna had achieved their goal.

By Sadie Bell




The singer-songwriter is bringing The Triple Moon Tour across North America next summer.

Alanis Morissette is hitting the road.

On Thursday, the singer-songwriter, 49, announced she's going on a massive tour throughout summer 2024 and bringing a handful of very special guests on the road.

The Grammy winner will embark on The Triple Moon Tour next year along with JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS and Morgan Wade. The 31-date tour spans across North America, kicking off in Phoenix, Arizona on June 9 and continuing through the summer until it wraps up on Aug. 10 in Inglewood, California at the Kia Forum. The alternative star, rock star, 65, and the rising country music singer, 38, will play in major cities like Dallas, Nashville, Toronto and Denver, among many other cities.

The "You Oughta Know" singer shared the news with a post on her Instagram Story of the tour dates. She also posted a message to fans expressing her excitement and explaining details on how to secure tickets to The Triple Moon Tour.

"been teeming to share this news with you," the hitmaker wrote on her Story. "going out on 'the Triple Moon Tour' with the amazing JOAN JETT & Morgan Wade this summer."

By Ilana Kaplan | Photo: PHOTO: NOAM GALAI/GETTY; CHRISTOPHER POLK/VARIETY VIA GETTY




Parton opened up to Hayley Williams about her new album 'Rockstar' in a cover story interview for 'Consequence'

Dolly Parton would have loved to sing "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" with JOAN JETT - but the latter just wasn't up for it.

In a cover story interview for Consequence about her forthcoming album Rockstar, the "Jolene" singer, 77, opened up to Hayley Williams about Jett's influence on the record and - how she pivoted after the RUNAWAYS rocker declined to sing "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" with her.

"When I wrote 'Rockstar,' the title song, I was picturing her as a little girl wanting to be a rockstar," Parton told the Paramore bandleader, 34, of Jett. "'I'm gonna be a rockstar, whether you two like it or not!' I was picturing her the whole time I was writing that song, how her young life might have been - trying to be a rockstar as a girl at that time?"

Parton noted that when she finally did get to sing with the "Bad Reputation" musician, 65, "she was so sweet."

"When I called her, I was going to do "'I Love Rock 'n' Roll.' And I called her and I said, 'Would you sing 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' with me?' And she said, 'No, but I'll sing 'Hate Myself for Loving You.' 'Everybody can sing 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll.' She said, 'Oh, that one's more you. Let's sing that one, because it's really got some meat to it,'" Parton recalled of her conversation with Jett.

Parton added: "So I thought, 'Well, cool!' I mean, she's telling me what to do and I was glad! 'Cause I was open to that. I love how it turned out. And she used her band, the BLACKHEARTS."

Parton expressed how in awe she was of the collaborations she was able to do for Rockstar.