It's the end of August and the feel of Fall is starting to seep in. It's not just because the date is approaching for your NFL fantasy draft or, looking at you Lenny Diana, the barrage of pumpkin spice goodies hitting the shelves. It's really the barrage of good new music that gets dumped at the end of the summer just in time for the fall. There's so much good new music out there that it is hard to keep up. We're here to help curate and keep up as music reviews return to our pages next week!
Speaking of the end of summer, Spotify has released the Top Streaming Songs of Summer 2023, both in the U.S. and globally. If you're a Rock music fan, don't expect to find any of your favorite artists on the list. The top songs are dominated by Pop, Hip Hop and Country musicians. “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen tops the list for the U.S., while “Ella Baila Sola” by Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma is the global leader. The only ALT / Rock artist on either list is “I Wanna Be Yours” by Arctic Monkeys on the global list. Click here to check out the full list.
Interviews are back in this week's issue as I talk with Des Rocs for a quick convo about his new release. He gives an interesting take on the state of music by saying, "The foundation of Rock & Roll is one of being the most creative, risk-taking genre that has ever been known by man. I feel a lot of that gets lost in the modern radio and streaming landscape where everybody wants to put things into boxes. I understand the human desire to neatly categorize things. You know, this guy sounds like Imagine Dragon's Light, so I'm going to play him here and put him in this playlist. A lot of my idols may not have done well in that scenario, because they were about taking big, big swings." I dig that analysis and he has more to add. Check out the full interview later in this issue.
SPINDRIFT
By Michael Parrish