Thursday Music News

04/21/2016

Janice Headley

As if today isn't heartbreaking enough with the death of Prince, but the news also reports that Richard Lyons, founding member of Negativland, passed away earlier this week from complications due to a nodular melanoma. He had just turned 57 years old the day before. Lyons, better known to fans as "Pastor Dick," had been battling cancer for 12 years. The avant-garde group formed in the Bay Area in the late '70s, taking their name from a Neu! track. The band gained notoriety in the early '90s with the U2 EP, resulting in lawsuits from Island Records and their own label, SST Records. Our thoughts go out to all his family, friends, and fans. [Rolling Stone]

Former Seattle resident Sturgill Simpson paid tribute to his time here last night on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: watch his country-tinged cover of Nirvana's "In Bloom" below. Simpson is currently vying for #1 on the Billboard charts with his latest A Sailor's Guide To Earth, battling against Rihanna for the top spot, whoa! Keep track of all these late night TV highlights with KEXP's TV Eye column. [Stereogum]

Apparently, this summer, the United Kingdom will address a referendum on whether or not they should remain in the European Union. Gruff Rhys, frontman for Welsh band Super Furry Animals, voices his thoughts on the matter with the track "I Love EU" which you can stream below. In an editorial for UK publication The Guardian, he explains, "My new song genuinely came to me in a daydream, while I was trying to tune in my faulty DAB radio. I heard a snippet of news about this badly timed referendum on staying or leaving the EU and suddenly it hit me hard how much I'd miss it if the UK, true to its tradition of recreational vandalism, managed inexplicably to kick itself out of this sophisticated European nightclub." Watch Rhys perform with Super Furry Animals in the KEXP studios back in February here. [Under the Radar]

Not only is their name fun to say, but the music's pretty great, too: Australian garage-psych band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard return next week with their eighth album, Nonagon Infinity. The album was recorded at Brooklyn’s Daptone Studios, and is said to have even more of a "Sabbath/Motorhead-style" sound to it. Stream the entire thing below, via NPR Music. Nonagon Infinity hits stores on April 29th via ATO Records. [Stereogum]

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The crushing news of Prince's untimely death has rocked the music industry. Artists all over the world have been paying tribute to the icon. On Broadway, Jennifer Hudson and The Color Purple cast ended their show with a powerful cover of "Purple Rain," and the cast of Hamilton had an impromptu dan…

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