Who is the most important band today in Modern Rock? This could make for a pretty good debate. I believe it’s Tame Impala. It’s the sum of all parts for me. Tame Impala—who I would say is only currently matched by The 1975—sells out shows all over the world and are key headliners on all music festivals.
At Alt radio, they are getting the attention that they truly deserve right now. “The Less I Know the Better,” the band’s biggest song with over a billion streams, has been enjoying a renaissance for the last six months with all the major stations playing in heavy rotation. Initially released in 2015, the track never got its due but thankfully is now. Their first Alt hit was “Elephant,” which was a Top 10 success in 2013. 2020’s The Slow Rush gave us “Lost in Yesterday,” which peaked at #2 in 2020, and “Is It True.” How did they break so wide open? I believe it was the music festivals, especially that 2016 window. The band is that good.
Right now, they are featured on Gorillaz’s latest hit, “New Gold” (Warner), which is a #1 contender. Their new song, “Wings of Time,” led by Virgin’s Marni Halpern and Marisa DiFrisco, took #1 Most Added honors this week and is headed to more greatness. I am loving every minute of this because I know bands like Tame Impala make Alternative radio better in real time.
In other Alt news, did you happen to catch Dirty Hit’s The 1975 on Saturday Night Live last week? The band played two songs from their latest release, Being Funny in a Foreign Language. The first one was their top 10 hit, “I’m In Love With You,” followed by “Oh Caroline,” which has been in rotation at KROQ Los Angeles for a couple months now. It also got added nationwide at the Audacy chain. If you want to see the band this summer, they will be one of the headliners at Lollapalooza and Outside Lands.
Speaking of Lollapalooza, they’ve got a strong lineup taking place in Chicago the weekend of August 3rd. Some of the headliners include Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers, ODESZA, Lana Del Rey and, of course, The 1975. Other acts that I can’t wait to see include Noah Kahan, The Backseat Lovers, beabadoobee, Jean Dawson, Rosa Linnand many more. If I could convince someone to do just one thing, it would be to go to at least one music festival a year and see what’s going on. It’s that important to watch what’s happening with the people who are streaming music. I find Lolla to be a perfect place to see a lot in a short amount of time. If you go, make sure you have great shoes or sneaks because you will do a lot of walking between all the stages.
On the record front:
Many congrats to Warner’s Rob Goldklang for guiding Linkin Park’s “Lost” to their 12th #1! I don’t see many records challenging this one anytime soon and it could very well get a 10-week (or longer) run in the top spot. Nick Petropoulos and his Arista team are enjoying Beach Weather’s “Sex, Drugs, etc …” strong hold in the Top 5 some 30+ weeks after its release. Columbia’s Lisa Sonkin has Rosa Linn’s “Snap” on the Top 10 doorstop as I write this column. Depeche Mode’s new single, “Ghosts Again,” is also getting closer to the Top 10 as they start their world tour this week. I was lucky enough to see a small sample of their live show at the band’s dress rehearsal last week here in L.A. The only word that comes to mind is iconic.
Meanwhile, beabadoobee’s “the perfect pair” approaches the Top 15. Bea starts her spring tour here in the States opening some dates for one of the world’s biggest artists, Taylor Swift. Mike Shinoda’s new offering, “In My Head” f/Kailee Morgue (Warner), looks destined for Top 10 success and beyond. And one of my new favorite songs is Lovejoy’s “Call Me What You Like.” AWAL’s Dave Lombardi quickly has this buzzing band already approaching the Top 25 with a forthcoming sold-out U.S. spring tour.
Also, it was super cool to see New West’s “Those Eyes,” led by Republic’s Amanda Dobbins and Drew Hauser,pick up a Audacy chain add this week. I’ve been listening to it on KROQ for a while now and it sounds great in their mix! Hollywood’s Buddy Deal, who has been killing it with S-Curve’s The Moss, has a new record to get your attention with Little Image’s “Out of My Mind,” which is iHeart’s new On the Verge act. And over at Glassnote, Michael Starr launches Grouplove’s “Hello,” which will easily be the most added track next week.
