I’m hoping we’re going to put this year in the rearview and move on to bigger and better things. Here are some artists you hear on 101WKQX will be rocking the celebration with appearances on network countdown shows. The list includes:
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021: Machine Gun Kelly
NBC’s New Year’s Eve 2021: Gwen Stefani (No Doubt), AJR
FOX’s New Year’s Eve Toast & Roast 2021: Green Day
Of course, that list that isn’t inclusive of ALL your musical opportunities. Check out artists that are either streaming this week or playing New Year’s bashes, regardless of genre. — [eric]
As reported by Billboard, vinyl record sales had their biggest sales week in history, with 1.842 million vinyl records being sold during the week ending on December 24th. It’s been a historic sales month for vinyl overall with the previous record being the week prior, with 1.445 million vinyl records being sold between December 10th and December 17th. So maybe this will be why when we can all party again together, we need to share all the vinyl we collected since the last time we could be in the same room together.
Consequence of Sound reported that 2020 has been a shifting year for physical media, which saw vinyl outsell CD’s for the first time in 34 years. This shift in physical musical sales occurred in the four weeks of September. Yes, a majority of us may consume our music through streaming nowadays but it does feel endearing to feel that special audible glow coming from a record player.
Jack White has made it his mission to put out great music on vinyl with his successful Third Man Records. His former band the White Stripes is releasing their ‘Greatest Hits’ collection and to celebrate they have an incredible contest to win their entire catalog on vinyl plus a $300 U-Turn Orbit Turntable with Built-in Pre Amp. You can enter to win here and note you can enter your info at the bottom of the page.
Now just imagine how busy the next Record Store Day is going to be next year now?
Since it’s been a while — and since most of Chicago is under a Winter Weather Advisory for snow/freezing rain (Tuesday afternoon / Wednesday morning), it might be a good time to remind people of the very complicated procedure of removing all the snow from your vehicle.
To anyone who has followed someone on the Kennedy who hasn’t, well — we all know what it’s like to get smacked with a pile of it. Not fun.
So be kind to your fellow Chicagoans and suburbanites. Heed this dude’s warning. Or you are worse than the people who don’t return shopping carts. — [eric]
This year’s Second City”s “Letters to Santa” 24 Hour Improv event was hosted online, and viewers were treated to a solo set by The Cure’s own Robert Smith.
Smith’s performance was comprised entirely of songs from The Cure’s 1981 album Faith to celebrate the record’s upcoming 40th anniversary. It was filmed in black and white leaving it dark and mysterious … just how I like my Cure. Check it out:
So this is the new normal of big blockbuster movies coming out on streaming services and movie theaters at the same time. Wonder Woman 1984 has been delayed several times but it dropped on HBO MAX on Christmas Day and quickly became a trending topic on social media. Many DC superhero fans chimed in with their provocative takes, but here are two solid reviews from the reliable Beyond the Trailers and Dan Murrell. Those two reviews are below.
If you have not seen the movie yet, you can watch it along with director Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot on Twitter at 5pm CST today. Use the hashtag #WW84WatchParty and dive deep into the nerdom over the Amazon badass in the ’80s.
Want to watch Wonder Woman 1984 with Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins?
Christmas is a time for families to get together and celebrate but then your uncle slips down, knocking down the decorated tree. That weird mishappening is all that your family may talk about for future holiday celebrations or it’s a consistent go-to story for those of you gathering on the back porch. These stories are a part of the holidays in a way that we all know but may not appreciate the surface. At Thanksgiving, I posted about this which got a flowing response of odd aunts, weird uncles, and cooked turkeys flying across kitchens. So the Christmas sequel is living up to the expectations? Short answer: Yes. Very much. These are some doozies.
Some of my favorites in the thread above included a Dad putting on Mom’s fur coat to wrestle his friend after one too many egg nogs, someone giving grandma some sexy underwear, and more ridiculous behavior around the 25th of December. Click on the FB post above to read more and maybe add your own story for everyone else to enjoy.
You can jump into the full discussion with dozens of stories on our FB without sharing your own seasonal weirdness.
Kings Of Leon tweeted out “the w8 is nearly over” — TEN MONTHS AGO. Perhaps feeling guilty, Jared of the Followill clan decided he was going to share some “holiday cheer” with the world on Christmas and delivered about thirty seconds of a new song called “The Bandit.”
The way they did it is pretty unique, however….
Four separate clips representing the four different members of the group. If you play them all together, it forms the song. I’ve got all four separated clips here and then the complete version for you below. — [eric]
It’s hard to imagine enjoying the experience of being judged by a website whose title is “How Bad Is Your Spotify?”. But after being dressed down by this artificial intelligence, I have to admit — I had a good laugh at myself (and my playlist).
All you have to do is click on this link from The Pudding — give the folks permission to your account — and sit back and enjoy the interactive experience. And it is RIDICULOUSLY detailed. In my case, it noted that I listened to an abundance of Tame Impala and asked if I was okay. Touché.
I’m curious how unique the experience is to everyone, so share your favorite sick burns on the 101WKQX Facebook page. — [eric]
This teenager in Idaho must have been really aggravating her dad so much he needed to embarrass her school by accosting her outside as the overzealous holiday character Buddy the Elf. Yes, he sang her a random song about how he loved her.
This is the not first time recently someone has dressed up as Buddy to do something silly around the holidays. Doug dressed up as ‘Elf’ to meet his biological dad for the first time and of course, he had to have his daughter to film it.
Need something funny to escape the usual holly jolly of the holidays in this dumpster fire year? Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco has unearthed many classic segments from his many years on the air that all exhibit that smart ass diversion of everything normal we need this holiday week.
Conan goofs around as a department store Santa.
Sometimes the holiday party gets kind of crazy and we forget all the good stuff, which makes this reoccurring sketch of showing pictures of insane things really click.
This segment is good enough for me to ….. well you should know the rest.
Conan goes caroling and really just freaks people out in suburban New Jersey.
Conan and his on-air pal, Andy Richter do some green-screen holiday shopping.
Jim Carey has been a wild guest in his many appearances on late-night TV but this 2005 memorable bit with a twisted holiday spin.
O’Brien has reunited with the Basic Cable Band recently to perform throwback style rock holiday rock tunes for the Get Together Foundation, which helps children in need. Watch his most recent tune here and more on the Team Coco channel.
Cage the Elephant will perform live for the first time since spring in a virtual concert happening on January 30. The performance will be a full band, fully electric, show from Blackbird Studio in Nashville.
The show will raise money for Bread & Roses, a west coast non-profit arts organization.
A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy may be out of a job after his bodycam microphone captured him having sex at Universal Studios, authorities say.
The tryst occurred in the unidentified deputy’s vehicle, which was parked outside the theme park’s Bates Motel exhibit. In a recording obtained by TMZ, a red-faced dispatcher can be heard saying, “95 Ocean, you have an open mic! Take care of mic!,” but the plea is drowned out by the noises the couple was making.
“The deputy was immediately relieved of duty and an administrative investigation has been opened,” a statement from the L.A. Sheriff’s Office reads. “The deputy’s peace officer powers have been suspended and proper administrative action will be taken, based on the outcome of the investigation.”
The Save Our Stages Act was included in the COVID-19 relief bill that passed this week in Congress. The act allocates$15 billion in funding to independent movie theaters and concert venues. The legislation was promoted through the National Independent Venue Association’s Save Our Stages campaign over the past few months which included a streaming musical festival featuring the Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews Band, and many WKQX bands you know well. In a study conducted earlier this year as the pandemic raged on, 90% of NIVA’s 2,800 member venues stated they would close permanently without federal assistance.
The Chicago Independent Venue League which includes beloved music halls like the Metro, the Rivera, Liar’s Club, Bottom Lounge, and many more is expected to benefit from the SOS act. Earlier this year, 101WKQX was proud to hold a 34-hour radiothon to benefit CIVL with Brian, Allie, and Justin doing a lot of ridiculous things on-air to get donations for our friends at the local music venues.
USA Today’s Nicholas Wu tweeted the bill will provide six months of financial support to “keep venues afloat, pay employees, and preserve a critical economic sector for communities across America.”
In a statement following the news, NIVA posted the following statement on their website:
NIVA hopes to work with the Small Business Administration to ensure the emergency relief is dispersed as Congress intended, that the instructions and process to apply for grants ensure that the process is implemented accurately, fairly, and as expediently as possible.
Since it could take many weeks, even months for the funding to flow, the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund, with The Giving Back Fund as its 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor, continues to raise money to assist the venues at greatest risk of permanently going under as we wait for the grants to be issued.
You can continue to support our local music and art venues through donations to CIVL or across the country to NIVA.
12-year old DJ Cael Bell advertised on Snapchat that all boys in his Year 8 grade were invited to an exclusive event: a rave in the boy’s bathroom in Urmstom, England. The dance party featured snacks and refreshments but the good times did not last as the whole thing got shut down by the school within 30 minutes. His speakers and equipment were confiscated. Now, how much trouble did Cael get himself into at home?
Well, his mom Louise says is in a Facebook post that she finds the humor in it. The story found legs online and has since gone viral with the post being shared over 42,000 times.
“I had to laugh. It has been a terrible year and I couldn’t be angry with my son for trying to spread some cheer,” she told the Mirror newspaper.
“When I heard what Cael had done, from advertising the rave on Snapchat to actually pulling it off and even providing refreshments, I couldn’t help but see the funny side… Music is Cael’s motivation and we couldn’t be mad at him for expressing and sharing that passion. It was very inventive of him.”
It’s so refreshing to see a kid being so inventive and setting out a path for creative fun like this. You can check out the post below along with videos Cael doing a great job mixing live.
As we close out the year we shall never speak of again, it seems as though many are looking for the next to be —a salvation. Me? I’m banking on the fact that 2021 will be better — but I’m not looking to oversell it. Just — let the new year flow over you and see how it feels. Kinda like how people should approach new music. have some excitement & anticipation, but don’t overthink it. Good plan, right?
Here are a few of the most anticipated albums of 2021 — either confirmed or assumed:
Foo Fighters
Dave Grohl says the band pushed forward with the idea of releasing an album in the middle of pandemic — because “people need something to lift their spirits.” Agreed. Medicine At Midnight will be Foo Fighters 10th studio album and and it will be out on February 5th.
Queens Of The Stone Age
When the band announced their first show in like — three years, people started speculating that Queens Of The Stone Age would follow up their appearance at the 2021 Reading and Leeds Festival with new music. Besides speculation on the internet, that’s all we got to work with. The festival is in August and if we don’t see any new music from the band by then, I would be shocked. Shocked.
CHVRCHES
It feels like a hundred years since we last saw Lauren Mayberry and the trio at The Nights We Stole Christmas (in fact, its only been TWO). But this is how a pandemic messes with the brain. As for how it messes with a band? Lauren says the band haven’t seen each other in person since last spring, but have taken to video conferencing and screen sharing like most of the rest of the world in piecing together the rest of the new album.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
I’m not sure what people are anticipating more in 2021: the fact that new music will be coming from the Red Hot Chili Peppers….or the fact that John Frusciante will once again be playing with them. Regardless of whether you are more geeked for the live sets or for the recorded note, Frusciante says the chemistry is still there — and that he will be using just one guitar to lay down the new tracks.
Phoenix
Last December, we got Instagram confirmation that Phoenix had returned to the studio — and one of the end products of that session was a new song for the On The Rocks movie soundtrack (see below). So if you’re working on one song, why not work on more than one? While 2021 sounds like a good time to hear more from our French friends, it’s been just under three years since their Te Amo. They took four years between their last albums, so…. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The youngest musician to win the Big 4 at the Grammys is back with a new song, “Therefore I Am.” And while she revealed that yes, indeed, she is working on tracks for a new project, she was pretty secretive about details on what that project will look like with her annual Vanity Fair interview. If I’m a betting person, I’d bet on Billie in 2021.
The never-ending video of “Level Of Concern” has come to a close. And yes, while it is important to note that the user-generated content video is now a Guinness World Record holder — it’s way more fun to see the way that Josh accidently put a bow on the project this Christmas.
for the last 178 days fans have been generating a never-ending music video for Level of Concern. well, we thought it was never going to end. pic.twitter.com/FxoZVg2qi5
