Rick Springfield’s new Universal Music Enterprises album Songs for the End of the World arrives at retailers in physical and digital formats on Oct. 9. It is his first album since 2008’s Venus in Overdrive, which entered the Billboard sales chart at No. 28, his highest position in two decades.
Collaborating on songs like the three-chord rocker “I Hate Myself,” the anthemic “Our Ship’s Sinking,” “Love Screws Me Up” and “Depravity” with his bass player Matt Bissonette, Springfield sets his sights on the possibilities of escaping the current, apocalyptic world situation in our closest relationships.
In doing so, he employs the kind of self-effacement and ability to poke fun at himself as he demonstrated when putting his dog Lethal Ron on the cover of Working Class Dog or spoofing his image by playing a sleazy, drug-and-sex-crazed version of himself on Showtime’s dark comedy Californication. John Waite and Mr. Mister’s Richard Page appear as backup vocalists, along with Rick’s original guitarist, Tim Pierce, who hasn’t played on record with him since 1999’s Karma.
“There’s real feeling in it, but you can’t write about that stuff too seriously,” he says of his sometimes tongue-in-cheek approach to serious subjects. “In the end, it’s about the world in flames, but from a personalized viewpoint. I take what’s happening to me and place it in a universal context. It’s what I’ve always tried to do with my songwriting.”
The album will also include special bonus, digital, cloud-based material that can be accessed by scanning a picture inside the album’s booklet via a special app developed by Aurasma, including videos, photos and additional bonus tracks. Befitting the performer’s special relationship with his audience, Springfield enlisted fans to submit videos of themselves singing along to a YouTube recording of “I Hate Myself.”
Springfield then used these fan’s actual voices on the album as well as an extended bonus version of “I Hate Myself” and has included their names in the credits. A 30-minute audio collection of the individual entries will be part of the extra features offered for all physical versions of the album. There also will be four separate album covers containing unique bonus content available through various individual retailers.
Still playing nearly 100 live shows a year, Springfield’s bond with his audience is the subject of the recent documentary An Affair of the Heart, which came out earlier this year, winning special jury awards at both the Nashville and Florida Film Festivals. He also recently wrote and recorded a new song with Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters / Nirvana) as well as being a featured guest in Grohl’s new documentary about “Sound City,” the fabled San Fernando Valley recording studio.
His 2010 autobiography, Late, Late at Night…: A Memoir, for Simon & Schuster’s Touchstone imprint, entered The New York Times best-seller list at No. 13, hitting the Los Angeles Times and Publishers Weekly lists as well, with Rolling Stone recently naming it one of the Top 25 rock autobiographies of all time. In the book, Springfield revealed the life-long depression he’s battled throughout his career, a theme he returns to in such songs as “I Hate Myself” and “Love Screws Me Up.” “I’m not the shiny, happy guy people think I am from my role in General Hospital,” insists Springfield. “I tend to put that angst into my music.”
With Songs for the End of the World, Rick Springfield applies his sardonic view to life as we live it today, offering a ray of hope in the midst of all the turmoil.
“The darker side of my nature creeps in and out, but so does a degree of optimism,” he says. “In the end, I believe that solace and healing can be found in the presence of someone who understands, loves and accepts you for who you are, even while these looming threats remain."
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