My Morning Jacket puts out a surprise acoustic album on Bandcamp for charity

My Morning Jacket are standing alongside the citizens of Minneapolis with this week's release of Peacelands, an acoustic album of original songs and exclusive covers, available now at Bandcamp.

Recorded by Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes, Kacey Musgraves, The War on Drugs) at EastWest Studios’ Studio Three in Hollywood, CA, the 14-track collection includes stripped-down new versions of My Morning Jacket and Jim James solo favorites like “I’m Amazed” and “Here In Spirit” alongside iongs by Bob Dylan (“Blowin’ In The Wind”), The Velvet Underground (“I Found A Reason”), Brian Wilson (“Love and Mercy”), and more. 

All proceeds from Peacelands will benefit such important nonprofit organizations as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Doctors Without Borders, and the International Rescue Committee. For an additional directory of activists providing crucial efforts on the ground in Minneapolis and elsewhere, please visit www.standwithminnesota.com.

PURCHASE PEACELANDS

“Peacelands” is a word and concept created by Louisville artist Mark Anthony Mulligan,” says My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, “an imaginary land of peace, friendship, and equality he created in his artwork - a place where folks listen to each other and find a way to get along in peace, friendship, and togetherness - despite their differences.

I think about this word “Peacelands” in our world all of the time, especially in troubled times, and we believe that it’s still possible for us to achieve Mark’s vision of Peacelands - a world of love and friendship - if only we can learn to listen, love, and forgive in paths of peace, acceptance, and tolerance.

We stand with the people of Minnesota and everywhere else affected by the horrors of ICE brutality and lack of human decency or transparency from this administration.

There is room for everyone to be safe and free and at home in this vast world and we need to find a new path together to safe and humane immigration policy and reform rooted in peace and love… safety and equality… and new systems of fairness, freedom, and transparent justice for all.

All proceeds from “Peacelands,” an album of mostly unreleased, acoustic peaceful protest songs - some covers and some of my own - that we released exclusively on @bandcamp, will go to organizations like @aclu_nationwide fighting for our safety and freedoms here at home, as well as @doctorswithoutborders and @rescueorg - organizations working hard to help heal the horrors of war and terror around the globe… working around the clock to help move us all towards “Peacelands.”

Artwork artist is unknown and comes from a handmade wood carving I found years ago at a second-hand store in Missoula called Circle Square."

TO MAKE A DONATION, PLEASE VISIT:

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION (ACLU) – www.aclu.org

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS – www.doctorswithoutborders.org

INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE – www.rescue.org

Track list:

1. Why Can’t We Live Together (Timmy Thomas)
2. New World Coming (Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil)
3. Love and Mercy (Brian Wilson)
4. Here In Spirit (Jim James)
5. Rainbow Power (Timmy Thomas)
6. I’m Amazed (Jim James)
7. Don’t Lose Your Eye (Sonny Boy Williamson)
8. Changing World (Woody Guthrie and Jim James)
9. State Of The Art (Jim James)
10. Blowin’ In The Wind (Bob Dylan)
11. Everything Must Change (Benard Ighner)
12. In The Moment (Jim James)
13. Together Again (Buck Owens)
14. I Found A Reason (Lou Reed)

The NAMM Show 2026: Report on Jan. 22 events

photo by Robert Kinsler

The NAMM Show officially kicked into high gear on Thursday, Jan. 22, at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. Marking its 125th anniversary, NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) hosted the world’s largest music trade event.

Here’s the weekend’s statistics, provided by the NAMM Show organizers:

60,000+ show attendees, including 8,760+ international attendees from 122 countries, regions and territories

1,650+ exhibitors representing 5,400+ brands, which is 25% more than 2025.

Nearly 15,000 artists demonstrating and endorsing products and brands
200+ education sessions with 550+ speakers
1,600+ media, influencers and content creators reaching over 200+ million followers, which is 50% more than 2025.

Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan was given the Technical Excellence and Creativity (TEC) Award for innovation, while Mike Dirnt of Green Day and Les Claypool of Primus were among those receiving Bass Magazine Awards (all performed as well, with Dirnt’s band mates Billie Joe Armstrong and Tre Cool turning up for a surprise mini-set during the event).

During the “Industry Insights” Breakfast Session, NAMM President and CEO John Mlynczak (pictured above) interviewed retail business leaders and presented the not-for-profit organization’s annual Music for Life Award to Rick Beato. The musician, producer and educator, whose Everything Music channel on YouTube has 5.45 million subscribers, was the first influencer and non-music celebrity to be honored.

photo by George A. Paul

After the trade show floors opened, Tony Hoffer – whose studio credits include mixing/production work on albums or singles by Beck, Depeche Mode, Travis, Air, Phoenix, Silversun Pickups, and others – did a Mix with the Masters song demonstration session.

When an attendee sought an anecdote about working on Beck’s albums, Hoffer said the alt-rock musician would sometimes do one take of a song and wouldn’t want to do another. “There could be a mistake, but we moved on. That gives it a vibe,” and often leads to magic. He added, “something different gets you excited … I’m searching for scrappiness.” Citing a post-punk music background, Hoffer admitted his goal is to “try and see what I can get away with.”

Across the way at the Hilton Hotel, the often humorous and engaging afternoon TEC Tracks panel discussion ‘Buzz Me In’: Birth of a Record: Devo’s ‘Whip It’ included Devo singer Mark Mothersbaugh, the 1980 song and Freedom of Choice album producer Robert Margouleff and moderator/author/music journalist Mr. Bonzai, AKA David Goggin.

Following the “Whip It” video projected silently on a screen, Bonzai asked Mothersbaugh about the clip’s connection to a 1962 article in Men’s pinup magazine The Dude. The singer said, “There was somebody in Nevada that whipped clothing off,” and quipped, “whips can be dangerous if not used properly.” He continued, “‘Whip It’ was our looking for something. Instead of being confrontational, we were sneaking into the system. The lyrics were like something out of Thomas Pynchon’s [novel] ‘Gravity’s Rainbow.’”

Margouleff – who’d gained prominence as a pioneering synth musician and produced a string of Stevie Wonder albums in the 1970s – recalled catching a Devo gig at L.A.’s Starwood before taking the production job. Referring to the overall message of the song “Freedom of Choice,” he felt that Devo “had something really important to say and I’m glad to be part of it. It was truly art.”

photo by George A. Paul

Mothersbaugh emphasized that without Margouleff’s contribution and the success of “Whip It,” “there would be no Devo today.” The group had been under pressure by Warner Bros. Records to deliver a hit after two previous albums failed to make an impact (Freedom of Choice was eventually certified platinum and is Devo’s most successful studio effort).

The Devo singer/songwriter recalled initially seeking a third album producer such as David Bowie, having “loved the Ziggy Stardust concept,” or Brian Eno, due to his early work in Roxy Music, because Eno was “what synthesizers were all about.”

At the time, Devo wanted to add more funkiness to their new sound. Mothersbaugh said they looked to Margouleff because of his work with Wonder: “He had common sense technique” and “so many great ideas. Also, he was a conceptual artist; he brought a positive energy to what we were trying to do.”

For a producer to be good in their role, Margouleff said they should “get the artist to perform at the limit of their potential and keep it as simple as possible; that album is really simple.” Then he went on to praise Devo drummer Alan Myers as a “rock solid player” in the studio for melding well with the drum machines and complimented the current band lineup after seeing a recent concert.

Motherbaugh noted that Devo’s tour dates with the B-52’s lately have been “really enjoyable: We’re old and crabby and they’re a party band. We really complement each other.”

Additionally, there were some funny stories about recording Freedom of Choice at L.A.’s Record Plant at the same time as Little Richard and the wild shenanigans of Rod Stewart’s posse (encompassing a dwarf, the studio facilities’ jacuzzi and lewd drawings all over the mixing board area).

“It really was like the ‘Hotel California,’” Margouleff noted, and relayed how he accidentally whipped himself in the face trying to get the “Whip It” single’s sound.

Thursday evening, dB Technologies USA celebrated its new loudspeaker launch with a private NAMM Show release party at the Grand Theater in Anaheim. The concert featured singer/guitarist Stacy Jones and lead guitarist Jamie Arentzen of American Hi-Fi, playing alongside singer/bassist Max Collins and drummer Ben Hilzinger of Eve 6 for the first time. Paul David Hager, a noted A-list engineer and producer, made sure the sound was top notch.

photo by George A. Paul

The first of two sets saw Jones and Collins trade vocal duties on each band’s respective alt-rock radio hits from the late 1990s/early 2000s. An exuberant Jones was in fine form, especially during the crunchy power pop-leaning “Flavor of the Weak” and midtempo, Oasis-styled favorite “Another Perfect Day” (the Manchester group would later be represented by an impressive “Champagne Supernova” cover).

Before doing Eve 6’s popular ballad “Here’s to the Night,” Collins said “If you’re an elder millennial … this was probably your graduation song.“

His performance on it and “Inside Out” was iffy at best. Jones joked that they were “the Sloan of cover bands,” and the musicians did solidly fun takes on Cheap Trick’s “Surrender,” Huey Lewis & the News’ “Heart of Rock ‘n’ Roll” (complete with guest saxophonist) and Tom Petty’s “You Wreck Me” (for which Jones jumped on drums).

My article was originally posted to rockcellarmagazine.com. 

Rare early Cranberries EP 'Uncertain' available today

Before The Cranberries had 1990s hit singles with “Dreams,” “Linger,” and “Zombie” and before their albums were certified multiplatinum and their videos racked hundreds of millions of views (“Zombie” has racked up 1.7B alone), the Irish alt-rock band released UNCERTAIN in October 1991.

Today, Island/UMe announced the reissue of the EP via a limited edition, numbered and lightly remastered reissue of Uncertain. Pressed on cranberry-colored vinyl, the 45-RPM 12” arrived prior to debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? in 1993.

Originally released in very limited quantities (estimates project just 5,000 copies were made), the rare four-song EP was recorded by the late Dolores O’Riordan on vocals, drummer Fergal Lawler, bassist Mike Hogan, and guitarist Noel Hogan.

“Whoa! Listening to these songs is like taking a trip through a time machine,” says Fergal. “We were so young when we recorded this EP. You can really hear it in Dolores’s voice. She was just 19 years old then.”

“Listening to Uncertain all these years later, I’m surprised by how well it’s held up,” adds Noel. “You can hear small hints of how the band would eventually sound, but more than anything, it brings back great memories of four young people eager to play music. The EP shows clear signs of strong songwriting, even if it still sounds very much of its time.”

“‘Uncertain’ seemed to me at the time to be more of a pop song, but I must say, listening back to it now, it’s got a bit more of an alternative slant to it,” Fergal reminisces.

"Uncertain": https://thecranberries.lnk.to/UncertainVideo

Of “Nothing Left At All,” Fergal says, “It’s heartbreaking lyrically but has this driving beat behind it giving it hope,” while the musician describes “Pathetic Senses” as “Dolores’ high soprano backing vocal is superb.

“Great big guitar power chords and jangly picking parts. It has a bit of an ‘80s feel to it, reminding me a bit of The Cure who we were all big fans of.”

For Fergal, however, it’s the closing track, “Them”, that resonates most. “I personally always loved this song,” he says. “It’s so powerful. It was one of the songs we played live a lot in our early days that really had a mesmerizing effect on the audience.”

Track listing: 

SIDE A

Uncertain
Nothing At All

SIDE B

Pathetic Senses
Them

The black watch returns with new album next month

Varied Superstitions, the black watch's 26th album, will be released Feb. 27 through UK label Blue Matter Records. Formats include a limited edition of 300 on purple vinyl and 300 CDs, plus digital release.

At a London gig last year, the black watch frontman/songwriter/novelist/ex-English prof John Andrew Fredrick joked that he’s “a recovering Anglophile...something I’ll never recover from.”

Believing his heritage to be “a third Scottish, a third English, a third Irish”, when Fredrick formed his band in 1989, he named it after the famous Scots infantry regiment. Though a recent 23andme test has revealed him to be 98 per cent English. So much for the nod to the regiment!

“British music, history, fiction, and poetry has formed so much of who I am as an artist and a person. Especially The Beatles,” Fredrick notes from his studio in the Angeleno Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. “The year The White Album came out, I broke my leg so badly playing American football that I had to spend eleven months in bed. I read maniacally about English History, and propped a little Silvertone acoustic on my cast and started writing songs in kiddie imitation of my heroes. That sad-at-the-time year turned out to quite profoundly if not fortuitously make me who I am.”

The new album reflects Fredrick's long-avowed attempts to make LPs that are as varied and melodic as the aforementioned legendary double LP that haunts and thrills him to this day. With Varied Superstitions’ New Order-ish title track, psychedelically majestic (and mostly backwards) experimental guitarscape No I Shouldn't, the propulsive pop drone of It Is What It Isn't, Some People Will Believe’s uptempo singalong, Your Clothes Sir evoking The Cure’s more wistful moments, to the shoegazing numbers Faze and Jolly Melancholy, the band once again reveal their diverse, ‘perennially quixotic’ ambitions.

There's a bona fide whimsical side to the oxymoronically jolly melancholy of Fredrick’s approach. The title track is evidence of how playful Fredrick can be as he chronicles all the ways in which one might defy superstition. And as the quasi-political Some People Will Believe points out, we do live in a somewhat superstitious if not fear-driven era. “But amidst the somewhat gloomy/dour nature of so many of my most upbeat songs, there are clues that one shouldn't take it all too seriously. We don’t ourselves. I mean, I can’t stand being called 'prolific'. I much prefer 'fuzzy-janglepop genius’”, Fredrick laughs as he reveals there’s another full-length and EP recorded and ready to go after this.

“Like my chum Nick Saloman and his band The Bevis Frond (who runs Blue Matter Records with Gary Urwin), I don't seem to be able to stop making records. Nor do I really want to, despite my innumerable threats to quit. I'm a quitter at heart, however. I quit teaching literature, smoking, being married, writing fiction, and teaching tennis. But music? Ah, I seem to be a recovering quitter in that realm as well.”

For more info, go to bluematterrecords.com.

Out now digitally: Beck's odds 'n' sods collection 'Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime'

photo: Nasty Little Man PR

Beck's Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime, an eight-song mini-album, collects some of his standalone singles and soundtrack contributions, cover versions and a couple of exclusive previously unreleased recordings.

It is named for Beck’s version of the Korgis’ song on the soundtrack to 2004’s The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and a frequent fixture of Beck’s live shows, especially his orchestral performances of the last few years. Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and the Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes for You” are here in addition to tributes to John Lennon (“Love”) and Caetano Veloso ("Michelangelo Antonioni”).

“Ramona,” from the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World soundtrack, is the sole Beck original here, while never before released recordings of two of Beck’s other reinterpretations — Hank Williams’ “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and Daniel Johnston’s “True Love Will Find You in the End” — round out this collection.

For a full list of recording credits, go to: https://beck.lnk.to/EGLSCredits

Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime is available now across DSPs, and will see physical release February 13 on opaque red vinyl, which can be pre-ordered HERE

Track list:

Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime
Can’t Help Falling In Love
I Only Have Eyes For You
Ramona
Michelangelo Antonioni
Your Cheatin’ Heart
Love
True Love Will Find You In The End

Def Leppard release new single on eve of Las Vegas residency

Def Leppard have unveiled the new single “Rejoice.” It arrives ahead of Def Leppard: Live at Caesars Palace The Las Vegas Residency that kicks off February 3. “Rejoice” is available via UMe now on all streaming platforms – Listen Here. Watch the official lyric video here.

On the creation of the song, lead singer Joe Elliott shares: “This song’s been an amazing journey from concept to conclusion. I said to Phil [Collen] one day, ‘I’ve got this idea for a lyric where the narrator is at absolute rock bottom and wants to rise up to a higher level. Do you have a musical piece that might match with that?’ And he said, ‘As it happens, yes I do.’”

Guitarist Phil Collen adds: “I had this riff, this idea for a song a while ago actually, so when Joe came to me I created this drum loop based with a tribal sound and it fit perfectly with this other arrangement I had. I sent it to Joe and it was like magic – he sang straight over the top of it. And that’s how the song was formed. Then we gave it to Ronan [McHugh] who’d done a proper drum loop with different sounds. It all started gelling and just sounded like a powerful chant. We love it. It’s hard rock for us. It’s got a bit more of an ‘oomph’ than stuff we’ve been doing for a while. It’s kind of magical.”

Fans can expect a brand new show and hear “Rejoice” live alongside classics from Def Leppard’s catalog of hits at their residency running through February 28 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. These new shows follow the band’s sold-out residencies in 2019 and 2013.

Lou Gramm of Foreigner unveils 'Released' in March

Lou Gramm, best known as the orginal voice of Foreigner, unveils “Young Love,” the first single from his upcoming album Released. Set to arrive on March 27, Released features 10 original tracks co-written by Lou and his former Black Sheep bandmate Bruce Turgon. 

A promotional tour will kick off this summer, with full headline dates to be announced in the coming weeks.

Lou says, “My new album Released is a collection of unreleased songs that were recorded in the 1980s during the production of my 3 previous solo albums. These are powerful, heartfelt songs with a great vintage sound taken right from my old multitrack tapes. This new album was a long time coming and it’s a real nostalgia trip. When I pulled these songs out of the vault, I knew I had to finish them for my fans around the world, so they can experience what I did when I first heard them after all these years. It means a lot to me to finally see this album released, to be taken back in time when I hear this music again, to remember working with all these great musicians, and to feel that my catalog is now complete.”

Produced by Lou Gramm, Released features appearances from Tony Franklin (The Firm) on bass for “Long Gone” and Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard) on guitar for the opening track “Young Love.” The physical album, available in both CD and limited-edition Ruby Red vinyl formats, is now available for pre-order here: https://lnk.to/LGReleased

Amid Foreigner's run of multi-platinum albums and hit singles, Lou enjoyed solo success with Ready Or Not (1987), featuring the hit “Midnight Blue,” followed by Long Hard Look (1989), which included “Just Between You And Me.”

The album includes “True Blue Love (Unplugged)”, originally appearing on Long Hard Look, and follows recent high-profile collaborations with Foreigner connected to the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024. Lou Gramm will be touring throughout 2026 in support of Released, including solo dates and special appearances with Foreigner. Full tour dates will be announced soon.

Formats details: Digital Album, Dolby Atmos Album, CD (HNE Recordings / Cherry Red Records), Vinyl (Friday Music)

Track listing:

1. Young Love
2. Lightning Strikes
3. Walk The Walk
4. Long Gone
5. Heart And Soul
6. Long Hard Look
7. True Blue Love (Unplugged)
8. Deeper Side of Love
9. Time Heals The Pain
10. Word Gets Around