While You Were Away: R.I.P Mark Langen, Daft Punk Returns, Regrettes Release New Music And More
Not ready for Monday quite yet? Catch up with the music news you may have missed with this week’s While You Were Away. This week we’re talking about new music from The Regrettes, remembering Mark Langen, Daft Punk’s return, tours on sale this wee
Mark Langen, Screaming Trees Frontman, Dies
Mark Langen, best known as the frontman of Screaming Trees, died on February 22, 2022. He was 57.
“Our beloved friend Mark Lanegan passed away this morning at his home in Killarney, Ireland,” reads a statement on his Twitter account. “A beloved singer, songwriter, author and musician he was 57 and is survived by his wife Shelley. No other information is available at this time. The family asks everyone to respect their privacy at this time.”
So far, a cause of death has not been released, but during a recent interview with Consequence, he discussed his battle with COVID, which left him in a three-week coma and temporarily deaf.
Considered a pioneer of the grunge genre, Langen fronted Screaming Trees from 1985 up until their breakup in 2000. He would later go on to join Queens of the Stones, whose work has appeared on five of their albums, including Rated R and Songs for the Deaf.
Our hearts go out to Langen’s family and friends during this difficult time.
The Regrettes Share New Video ‘You’re So F*cking Pretty’
The Regrettes have released the new music video for their latest single “You’re So F*cking Pretty.” Serena Reynolds, who directed the clip, talks about the video saying “Lydia [Night, vocals] is the best and we just clicked. I love how we were able to collect so much beauty, frustration and sadness in the video to formulate this idea of a person we never visually see. I think the magic is that this ‘lover’ really feels all-encompassingly joyful in the end.”
Singer Lydia Night explains the meaning of the song:
“It’s the first time I’ve ever written directly about a girl I had a crush on, and it took me a while for me to even allow my brain to accept the fact that I’m bisexual. I always felt like I couldn’t validate my own feelings because I had never been in a relationship with a girl. But I had a pretty big crush on one of my friends a while ago and this song is an exaggeration of that, but it’s still coming from a very real place. It was the first experience where I was like, ‘Oh, these are real feelings, this isn’t just a sexual attraction,’ and that helped me realise I wasn’t straight.
“This song means so much to me because it also represents the time we spent in Joshua Tree and opening up to my whole band about that experience and not feeling embarrassed or scared of talking about it. Writing this was important for me because it just validated my own sexuality.”
“As a queer person growing up it definitely felt like there weren’t many songs I could relate to fully and I feel like this song would have been something I would have held really close to my heart as a kid,” adds guitarist Genessa Gariano. “I hope that happens with other people. I don’t think it necessarily has to be this queer anthem, but I think someone else could listen to it and feel the same way, or someone could feel that way about a boy they like. Boys can be pretty too.”
Watch the video below.
Daft Punk Release Deluxe Edition Of ‘Homework’ For 25th Anniversary
Daft Punk recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of their debut album Homework with the surprise release of a rare recording of the two performing maskless in 1997. The performance was recorded at the duo’s December, 17th, 1997 gig at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles during their “Daftendirektour.” The performance was streamed on Twitch and billed as something that would be shown once.
Additionally, the duo also released a digital deluxe edition of Homework featuring 15 remixes, nine of which were previously unavailable on streaming platforms. The new edition features contributions from Masters At Work, DJ Sneak, Todd Terry, Motorbass, Slam, Ian Pooley, I:Cube, and Roger Sanchez & Junior Sanchez. A vinyl release of Homework deluxe edition comes out April 15th. Pre-order a copy here.
Stream Homework deluxe below.
Green Day Cancel Moscow Concert
Green Day have canceled their stadium show in Moscow in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The rockers were booked to play the Spartak Stadium in Moscow on May 27th, but revealed in a statement released on Sunday (Feb. 27) that they have decided to cancel the show.
“We are aware that this moment is not about stadium rock shows, it’s so much bigger than that,” Green Day said. “But we also know that rock and roll is forever and we feel confident there will be a time and a place for us to return in the future. Refunds available at the point of purchase. Stay safe.”
Read their statement below.
Tours On Sale This Week
Smashing Pumpkins will embark on their “Rock Invasion 2 Tour” May 2nd in San Antonio, Texas. The jaunt also includes their appearances at Beale Street Music Festival and Welcome to Rockville. Get ticket and tour details here.
Coheed and Cambria have announced their summer 2022 tour with Dance Gavin Dance and Mothica starting July 12th in Miami, Florida and wrapping up August 17th in Troutdale, Oregon. Tickets on sale here.
H.E.R.’s headline US tour starts in Honolulu, Hawaii on April 8th and concludes June 19th in North Carolina. Find tickets here.
Simple Plan and Sum 41 are joining forces for their “Blame Canada” US tour, which features both bands performing songs from their debut albums No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls and All Killer No Filler respectively. The tour starts April 29th in Raleigh, North Carolina and wraps up August 18th in Denver, Colorado. Get tickets here.