There’s no other way to begin this than by saying rest in peace to Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, both of whom passed away this week at 80 years old. I don’t know what I can say about either of these legends that others haven’t said better, but I will share one personal anecdote about Dolly Parton. Somehow, I did not hear “Jolene” until much later in my life than almost everyone I know, and I remember when I did first hear it. It was playing over the PA in between bands at a show I was at, and I remember instantly thinking it was one of the greatest songs I’ve ever heard in my life. I asked a friend, “Do you know what song this is?” And she was like “……….’Jolene’ by Dolly Parton?” And I was so embarrassed that I don’t think I ever told anyone this story until deciding to publicize it right now. Point being: hearing that song with no expectation and no context, I instantly thought it was as good as I now know everyone says it is. And those moments are pretty rare, especially as late in life as I was when I first heard “Jolene.” Rest in peace to a legend who’s as great as everyone says she is.
I reviewed eight new albums this week, but before I get to them I have some shameless plugs. This week I announced that I’ll be doing a release event for my book EMO REVIVAL in Brooklyn on September 16 at Book Club Bar. I’ll be in conversation with fellow emo author Chris Payne (Where Are Your Boys Tonight?), and it should be fun, if I do say so myself. RSVP is open now.
Also, Dan Ozzi was kind enough to post an interview with me about the book on his Substack ZERO CRED and one of my favorite podcasts, Axe To Grind, invited me on the show this week for an episode about fourth wave emo. I enjoyed both of these chats a lot and, if you’re interested in my book or emo in general, maybe you will too. The Alternative also put up an excerpt of the book that focuses on TWIABP’s Whenever, If Ever.
Thank you for letting me plug myself. Now, on with the new albums…
Turnstile - Never Enough: Versions (Roadrunner)
It’s been becoming more and more of a trend lately for artists to commission and work with a number of other artists on a covers/remixes/reimaginations version of their own album. Paramore and This Is Lorelei both recently did it, and now Turnstile have done it with Never Enough: Versions, an album featuring 24 different artists across 23 different “versions” of songs from the original 14-track Never Enough. (Incidentally, Hayley Williams is the only person who appears on all three of those albums.) The list of artists—many of whom are opening dates of Turnstile’s upcoming tour and some of whom also appear on the original Never Enough—mirrors Turnstile’s wide range of taste, with hardcore, death metal, jazz, pop, electronic music, psych-pop, indie folk, R&B, and more represented. It’s truly all over the place, and credit is due to Turnstile for how much sense it ends up making.
