Welcome back to the Disposable Underground newsletter, a companion to the blog of the same name. I’ve been changing it this way and that over the years, and lately it comes out once a month. Please enjoy.
Music News
Last month I told you about the “Beyoncé blip,” and this month it’s the “Swift Quake.” At a couple shows on her current tour, Taylor Swift fans were rocking so hard that they created a seismic event. Simrin Sing has the story at CBS News.
Metallica teamed up with NASA last month to promote the space agency’s Artemis program (that’s the one that’s taking the U.S. back to the Moon). The social media campaign takes advantage of Metallica’s “Fuel.”
AM radio isn’t something I recall ever listening to, but some people are holding onto it in 2023. Ford Motors reversed its decision to stop including it in its new vehicles after getting pressured by lawmakers, Rebecca Bellan writes for TechCrunch.
Ripple is a free app from TikTok’s parent company with a “melody to song” generator and a virtual recording studio, Murray Stassen writes for Music Business Worldwide. You hum a melody into the app and can manipulate it from there as the app gets to work. I’ve hummed a riff idea or two into Voice Memos (and admittedly never done anything with the recordings) but this sort of thing never occurred to me. I wonder how it would do with death growls?
I’ve written more than once about Swans, and recently about new album The Beggar. The record is out now (and recommended) and the 2xCD version has a stark look which one sometimes finds with Swans, as you can see below.
Rest In Peace
Sinéad O’Connor, the Irish songwriter, singer, and activist, died last month. She said she was “proud to be a troublemaker,” Harrison Smith writes for The Washington Post.
There’s plenty more music writing at the Disposable Underground blog.
Thanks for reading.
August 2, 2023 newsletter
