A return...

Holy cow! It's been a really long time since I've visited this Blog.

I was about to start a new blog, as a means to document all the ways musicians were coming together to raise awareness about the current COVID-19 pandemic, whether it be through releasing new music for free, streaming live performances from their living rooms, or uploading old concert footage to Youtube. You can find the full list of posts here!

Maybe I should have restarted this project earlier. But, a lot has happened in the years since I last visited: priorities changed, interests shifted, and time poured into other activities. Any way, now seems as good a time as any to get back into blogging.

I don't know how often I'll post (or what additional content will be covered), but for now, I have plans to share new music from Nine Inch Nails, several playlists from live DJ sets by members of Deftones, and a Post Malone playing a Nirvana tribute concert, and a star-studded rendition of Foo Fighters "Times like these." If there are any other videos/playlists/downloads you have come across during your lock down, then don't hesitate to share them in a comment.

#StayHome                                                    #StaySafe                                          #LoveOneAnother

Foo Fighters write new song while touring Chile

I think the following video proves that Dave Grohl is one of the best front men in the world, and that the Foo Fighters are easily the best live act around at the moment.

It would be great if the Foos went on to record a version of this track and release it as a free download for their fans, or even as part of a live compilation EP à la Queens of the Stone Age, Nine Inch Nails, and Rodrigo y Gabriela.

Spookshow International Live

Rob Zombie has announced that he will be releasing a new live album later this year. According to Zombie's Facebook page the new record will contain "...no overdubs, no fixes, no fake crowd, no nothing. 100% absolutely live. No joke."

The album artwork and track list were released via Facebook too:

  

I have a copy of Zombie Live, and have watched the Past, Present & Future DVD. If the new live recordings have managed to capture the same energy, then the album is likely to become a hit.

I'll likely purchase The Zombie Horror Picture Show blu-ray in the next few days, in order to witness the theatrical spectacular that is a Rob Zombie concert in the best way possible. Well at least the best way possible until Rob Zombie comes to South Africa. 

Nine Inch Nails announce live DVD and Blu-ray

Following the release of the Live 2013 EP, and several videos of performances and behind the scenes action from the Tension 2013, Nine Inch Nails have released a 90 minute video from their performance in Los Angeles last month. This also just happens to be one of the concerts I was planning to attend if I found myself in Los Angeles that week, but sadly the trip never went ahead.

The above video also serves as a promo for the expanded concert set for release next year on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital distribution. According to the nin.com minisite, and Facebook the full concert will be releases, with 5.1 surround sound audio mix, as well as additional content.

I'll be aiming to get the Blu-Ray, as I want to experience the Los Angeles show in full-HD, which will be the next best thing to actaully having been there myself. Hopefully I'll be able to catch Nine Inch Nails on a future European or North American tour, as I doubt they'll be heading to South Africa any time soon.

Queens of the Stone Age release live EP, '...Like Cologne'

Queens of the Stone Age have released an EP via Spotify entitled ...Like Cologne. I Imagine it contains a series of live recordings from the groups recent Cologne show, but I can't be certain since Spotify doesn't work in my region. 

I do however quite like the snot-green* cover. Perhaps Spotify should consider re-branding itself 'Snotify.'

After some scratching around, I was able to find the following video of the band performing The vampyr of time and memory in Cologne, Germany. Perhaps some additional digging will find other treasures...

Queens of the Stone Age - "The Vampyre of Time and Memory" live in Cologne from Matador Records on Vimeo.

--

* snot, as in nasal mucous, as per the second definition on Urban Dictionary.

Free download from Ghost

Last week I shared the first track off the forthcoming EP from Ghost, which was produced by Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters). In that post I mentioned that if you pre-ordered the EP you'd receive a free download of the live recording of Secular haze. Well it turns out that any one can download the track for free, simply by providing an email address. Best of all, this isn't in a lossy format like most free downloads...

Nine Inch Nails live EP

Trent Reznor and co. have recorded several Nine Inch Nails shows during the band's 2013 tour. Hopefully this means we'll get a concert DVD, or a full live album in a couple of months time. For now though four of the tracks have been compiled into a Live 2013 EP, which is streaming via Spotify. The EP artwork is labelled 'Seed 7,' signifying this as an official promotional release. 

This is only the second 'seed' that has not been made available for free download, the last time being back in 2005, when members of the nin.com community received promotional DVDs in the mail with the words Seed 1 on the back cover.

-- Update 17 September 2013 --

Apparently the EP has disappeared from Spotify, although Rob Sheridan has confirmed that it will be back online again soon. In the mean time, have a look over here.

@heroicraptor So I heard. No idea what happened there but it should be coming back.

— Rob Sheridan (@rob_sheridan) September 12, 2013

Nine Inch Nails débuts third track from 'Hesitation Marks' in South Korea

Nine Inch Nails played two new songs off Hesitiation Marks at the Ansan Valley Rock Festival two nights ago in South Korea. The new tracks played are entitled 'Copy of a' and 'Disappointed.' Below is a video of the band opening the show with Copy of a, followed by the first live performance of Disappointed.

From the three tracks I've heard from Hesitation Marks so far, I'm quite impressed. I'm equally excited to hear the rest of the album, which sounds like it has been influenced by electronic music much more than previous Nine Inch Nails albums.

Radiohead Live at Tramps 1995

Paste Magazine and Noisetrade have teamed up to offer an early recording of Radiohead performing in New York in 1995. The download features the entire 18-song setlist of songs off the bands first two albums Pablo Honey and The Bends. 

The recording may be downloaded for free, but if you're feeling generous, you may leave a 'tip.' In this case all money raised through tips will be donated to Amnesty International.

Download Bloc Party's "Truth" live from Earl's Court

XFm are offering a free download of Bloc Party's performance of Truth from their sold out performance on 22 February at Earl's Court, London.

The recording is of excellent quality, although it sounds almost too clean to be a concert performance as there is very little crowd noise. You can watch the official music video for Truth below.