Don't Protest This Album Release

Modern Rock

Protest music record label Appleseed Records has put together a huge compilation album celebrating its 21st anniversary, Appleseed’s 21st Anniversary: Roots and Branches. The set will exclusively feature Bruce Springsteen’s version of the Pete Seeger folk tune “If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song),” as well as Springsteen’s take on “We Shall Overcome.” Additional tracks on the collection will include cover tunes by Tom Morello, Donovan, Tim Robbins, John Wesley Harding, Jesse Winchester, Anne Hills, and Tom Russell, plus archival recordings from Seeger, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, and Roger McGuinn …

If you’ve enjoyed Conan O’Brien’s roster of musical guests — sorry, music fan, the party’s over. Beginning January 2019, O’Brien will no longer welcome musicians or bands to his TBS late-night show, which has long been a staple stop for touring performers and those promoting new album releases. Instead, O’Brien will shorten the program to a 30-minute run time and push the focus to comedy. Music booker Roey Hershkovitz, who’s worked for O’Brien since 1999, is departing the show along with the music …

Now, if you’re a fan of The Velvet Underground, the iconic band of Lou Reed and Nico (and pals of Andy Warhol), your fortunes are better. Coming to New York City this fall is "The Velvet Underground Experience," a massive, immersive exhibition on the band and their cohorts that will feature six exclusive films and a collection of artwork — primarily portraits — showcasing figures of the Underground’s scene in the ’60s. The exhibition, which was previously shown at La Philharmonie de Paris, will head to Greenwich Village and will be on display for three months beginning Oct.10 …

Iceage is winding down its summer tour dates and prepping to repack for upcoming European shows, which will keep the band overseas until early November, when it returns to the U.S. for a co-headlining tour with The Black Lips. While you wait for the band’s return, call up its brand new Tokyo-filmed music video for punky pop track “Under the Sun,” which features the extravagant floral designs of flower sculptor Azuma Makoto on YouTube/Vevo now …

LINK OF THE WEEK
Arctic Monkeys recently honored Detroit band The White Stripes by performing a cover of the Stripes’ tune “The Union Forever” (from the album White Blood Cells) at AM’s concert in the Motor City — check out that live performance via this fun fan-shot video: https://youtu.be/jbkCbSrSKd8

THE BUZZ
Ice Cube will hit the Fox Theater in Detroit for a live show on Sept. 29. Spice 1 is his opening act …
Thom Yorke (Radiohead’s frontman) is heading to Detroit, too, for a show promoting his solo work at the Masonic Temple Cathedral Theater on Dec. 2 …
Panic! at the Disco has announced the next leg of its Pray for the Wicked Tour, which will now include a stop at Grand Rapids’ Van Andel Arena for a concert on Jan. 29 …
And a shortlist of buzz bands, including Local Natives, Khruangbin, Basement, and The Regrettes, rocked this past weekend’s Audiotree Music Festival just east of Grand Rapids … and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock. 

Comments, questions, rants, raves, suggestions on this column? Send ’em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com.

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