Here are the major album releases, TV appearances, anniversaries and other events coming up in the next seven days. Mark your calendars and pre-order your favourites — but don’t blame me if things change at the last minute:
TOP NEW ALBUMS
The Specials
Encore
A new message to you, Rudy: For their first album in nearly two decades, the British 2 Tone ska legends reunite with original gangsters Lynval Golding, Horace Panter and, best of all, vocalist Terry Hall — last heard from on 1981’s Ghost Town.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
The Best of Everything: The Definitive Career Spanning Hits Collection (1976-2016)
And they do mean everything: This 38-song set covers Petty’s career from Mudcrutch and the Heartbreakers to his solo work, plus the mandatory pair of previously unreleased songs.
OTHER RELEASES
February 1
• American Authors | Seasons
• Astronoid | Astronoid
• Masaki Batoh | Nowhere
• Beirut | Gallipoli >
• Big Wild | Superdream
• Boy Harsher | Careful
• Bright Light Social Hour | Jude, Vol. 1
• Broods | Don’t Feed the Pop Monster
• Harriet Brown | Mall of Fortune
• Ian Brown | Ripples
• Business of Dreams | Ripe for Anarchy
• Le Butcherettes | bi/MENTAL
• Canine | Dune
• Tommy Castro & the Painkillers | Killin’ It Live
• Cherry Glazerr | Stuffed & Ready
• Chontaraz | Speed the Bullet
• Phil Collins | Serious Hits … Live!
• Patrick Damphier | Say I’m Pretty
• Deep State | The Path to Fast Oblivion
• Deer Tick | Mayonnaise
• Dieklute | Planet Fear
• Entrepreneurs | Noise & Romance
• Fredo | Third Avenue
• Girlpool | What Chaos Is Imaginary
• GOT7 | I Won’t Let You Go
• Grandchildren | Grandchildren
• Dave Harrington Group | Pure Imagination, No Country
• Highasakite | Uranium Heart
• Honey Lung | Memory
• Jealous of the Birds | Wisdom Teeth
• Amanda Joy & The Diamond Street Players | Million Miles
• Rachel Kilgour | Game Changer
• Emily King | Scenery
• Abigal Lapell | Getaway
• Lonely Heartstring Band | Smoke & Ashes
• Lost Cousins | In Scenery
• Maurice Louca | Elephantine
• Calva Louise | Rhinoceros
• Moth & The Flame | Ruthless
• Major Murphy | Lafayette
• Nina Nesbitt | The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change
• Only Yours | Overrun
• P.O.S. | Never Better
• Quantum Pig | Songs of Industry and Sunshine
• Linda Ronstadt | Live in Hollywood
• Rustin Man | Drift Code
• Set It Off | Midnight
• Finlay Shakespeare | Domestic Economy
• A. Sinclair | Catpaws
• JR Slayer | You Found Me
• Wadada Leo Smith | Rosa Parks: Pure Love
• Soen | Lotus
• Sonic Dawn | Eclipse
• Spielbergs | This Is Not The End
• Telescopes | Exploding Head Syndrome
• These New Puritans | Into the Fire
• Thetan | Abysmal
• Ward Thomas | Restless Minds
• Those Pretty Wrongs | Day at the Park
• Tiny Ruins | Olympic Girls
• Van Duren | Waiting: The Van Duren Story
• White Lies | Five
• Within Temptation | Resist
• Worthless | Cave
MUSIC ON TV
Monday
21 Savage | Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Paul Simon | Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Cierra Ramirez | Late Night With Seth Meyers
Backstreet Boys | Live With Kelly & Ryan
Mark Ronson & Miley Cyrus | Ellen DeGeneres Show
https://youtu.be/PFcDyHYUH_Q
Tuesday
Cypress Hill | Jimmy Kimmel Live
Yo Gotti feat. Lil Baby | Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
DaniLeigh | Late Night With Seth Meyers
Christina Aguilera & Lizzo | Ellen DeGeneres Show
Wednesday
Emily King | Jimmy Kimmel Live
Luis Fonsi | Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Phosphorescent | Late Late Show With James Corden
Shinedown | Live With Kelly & Ryan
Boy George & Culture Club | Ellen DeGeneres Show
Thursday
Sumner Walker | Jimmy Kimmel Live
Conan Gray | Late Night With Seth Meyers
Saturday
Steve Gunn | CBS This Morning
Buddy Guy, August Greene | Austin City Limits
BOOKS
Careless Whispers: The Life and Career of George Michael
By Robert Steele
THE PRESS RELEASE: In Careless Whispers, author Robert Steele details every step of the conflicted superstar’s career and digs deep into his closely guarded private life. Drawing on firsthand accounts from Michael’s ex-manager and the journalist who was part of his social circle in the 1980s, Careless Whispers examines in detail the life, work, and tragic final act of a much-loved icon.
Jimi Hendrix | Black Legacy: (A Dream Deferred)
By Corey Washington
THE PRESS RELEASE: Black Legacy is the culmination of a two decade journey of author Corey Washington‘s exploration of Jimi Hendrix‘s complex and misunderstood relationship and impact, on the Black Community. Jimi’s life has been featured in numerous biographies over the years, but very little has been properly documented, when it comes to his influence on people of color.
Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest
By Hanif Abdurraqib
THE PRESS RELEASE: Poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib digs into the group’s history and draws from his own experience to reflect on how its distinctive sound resonated among fans like himself. The result is as ambitious and genre-bending as the rap group itself.
Small Town, Big Music: The Outsized Influence of Kent, Ohio, on the History of Rock and Roll
By Jason Prufer
THE PRESS RELEASE: Relying on oral histories, hundreds of rare photographs, and original music reviews, this book explores the countercultural fringes of Kent, Ohio, over four decades. Firsthand reminiscences from musicians, promoters, friends, and fans recount arena shows featuring acts like Pink Floyd, The Clash, and Paul Simon as well as the grungy corners of town where Joe Walsh, Patrick Carney, Chrissie Hynde, and DEVO refined their crafts.
BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES
Monday January 28
Giving: 1985, the charity single We Are The World was recorded at A&M Studios in Hollywood. Taking: In 2005, Traffic co-founder Jim Capaldi died of stomach cancer at age 60. And in 2016, Jefferson Airplane guitarist < Paul Kantner and original singer Signe Toly Anderson both died at 74. On a happier note, Sarah McLachlan celebrates her 51st birthday.
Tuesday January 29
Heroes: In 1961, Bob Dylan met Woody Guthrie. Dylan told him, “I was a Woody Guthrie jukebox.” Guthrie gave Dylan a card which read, “I ain’t dead yet.” Villains: In 1979, 16-year-old Brenda Spencer killed two people and wounded nine when she fired from her house at the entrance of San Diego’s Grover Cleveland Elementary School. When asked why, she answered, “I don’t like Mondays.” Bob Geldof took note. Hey, ho, happy birthday: Thomas Erdelyi, a.k.a. Tommy Ramone, was born in 1952.
Wednesday January 30
First: In 1956, Elvis Presley started recording his first album at RCA’s New York Studios. In 1973, KISS played their first show at the Popcorn Club in New York. And some important folks were born: Jefferson Airplane singer Marty Balin in 1942, Small Faces frontman Steve Mariott in 1947 and Genesis drummer Phil Collins in 1951. Last: In 1969, The Beatles played their final gig, playing five songs on the roof of the Apple building in London. Hope they passed the audition. In 1982, bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins died of cancer at 70.
Thursday January 31
Coming: Sex Pistols and PIL frontman John Lydon a.k.a. Johnny Rotten was born in 1956, while Justin Timberlake arrived in 1981 and Mumford & Sons leader Marcus Mumford was born in 1987. Going: Bluesman Slim Harpo died of a heart attack at 46 in 1970, and former Buffalo Springfield drummer Dewey Martin died in 2009 at age 68.
Friday February 1
Arrivals: In 1949, RCA Records issued the first 45rpm single, the invention of this size record made jukeboxes possible. And in 1965, James Brown recorded Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag. Don Everly was born in 1937, Rick James in 1948, and Lisa Marie Presley in 1968. Departures: In 1995, Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards vanished after leaving a London Hotel. His car was found outside Bristol 16 days later.
Saturday February 2
Endings: In 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper played their final shows at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. And in 1979, Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious died of a heroin overdose in New York City. Beginnings: Singer-songwriter Graham Nash was born in 1942.
Sunday February 3
Bad News: In 1959, Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens died in when their light crashed shortly after takeoff from Clear Lake en route to Fargo. The Good News: Kinks guitarist Dave Davies was born in 1947, New York Dolls bassist Arthur (Killer) Kane was born in 1949, and Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo (who is married to my junior high schoolmate Leah Singer) in 1956.
