Every month, our team will deliver a short roundup of the latest and most compelling music news gathered from across the internet. Stay tuned for a curated selection of the most relevant and interesting updates from the music world.


Justice enter 2024 with a sneak peek of their new album

Justice have teased new music, indicating that a new album could come out this year. French electronic duo Justice — consisting of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay — have shared a short electro tease on social media. This is their first new material since 2016’s Woman, their third album.

Last year, Pedro Winter aka Busy P, head of the band’s label Ed Banger, hinted that new Justice music could be in the works, so this news isn’t entirely unexpected. While the duo’s most recent tour wrapped up in 2018, Justice have kept busy.

In 2022, they marked the 15th anniversary of their iconic debut album “Cross” with the release of an EP comprised of various versions and remixes of the album’s key track, “D.A.N.C.E.” and the original demo. At the moment, the exact release date for the new Justice album is unknown, but it is expected to be released in the spring.

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Rage Against The Machine will not play live again

Rage Against The Machine drummer Brad Wilk was the bearer of bad news to fans anxiously awaiting live shows. Although the band had hinted at a tour, Wilk shut down the rumors, saying that RATM, including Tim, Zack, Tom, and himself, would not be hitting the stage again.

The band’s 2019 reunion tour was canceled due to the pandemic, and then later derailed when vocalist Zack de la Rocha was injured. Further setbacks ensued as bassist Tim Commerford fought a battle against prostate cancer, which forced the band to cancel rescheduled dates.

It is a tough message when Wilk lets fans know that it is really over; people were hoping for something different. The impact that the band had on music and activism has been felt across generations, and for many, their music is a call to do something about the social wrongs that have been so prevalent in the society.

While the news may be disappointing, it also serves as a reminder of the band’s enduring influence and the power of their message.

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You could be the next Smashing Pumpkins guitarist

When Jeff Schroeder left Smashing Pumpkins last October, the future of Smashing Pumpkins’ lineup was unsure. Fans wondered if Smashing Pumpkins, with Billy Corgan and James Iha fronting it, would go back to the classic two-guitar setup. It turns out that the band didn’t want to replace Schroeder, in the sense that his shoes were not easy to fill, and instead, they announced open auditions for aspiring guitarists.

And this had never been done before by a band of their status—through their Instagram account, they extended the invitation to anyone in the world who is really passionate about music. “The Smashing Pumpkins are in search of an additional guitarist” the post reads, showing fresh hope for budding musicians. The requirements are simple: just send your resume to SPGguitar@redlightmanagement.com. Of course, the competition to fill Schroeder’s shoes will be tough and historic.

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Aaron Rash, the YouTuber who’s got very close to Kurt Cobain’s tones

Meet Aaron Rash, who’s from California but raised in Texas and is now based in Seattle. While no stranger to the scene, his dives into Kurt Cobain’s Nirvana tones via his YouTube channel.

Hailing from the world of electronics and hip-hop production, Rash’s videos have a cinematic quality that’s hard to shake. Despite some challenges, his dedication shines through, driven by a love of music alone. At just under 48,000 subscribers, his channel has become a haven for Nirvana fans looking to break apart the sounds of Cobain.

For Aaron, it all started with just a love for Nirvana that quickly turned into an obsession after moving to Seattle and experiencing the band’s hometown in person. This new obsession led him to make the quest for sonic perfection in uncovering all of the details of Cobain’s tone.

Whether he’s investigating rare gear or getting into the minute details of Cobain’s studio magic, Aaron’s videos will be full of useful information for guitar fans and Cobain enthusiasts.

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Pitchfork to be absorbed into GQ

Condé Nast announced a major restructuring of editorial at Pitchfork, bringing the Pitchfork editorial team into the GQ organization. The move, announced in a memo sent to staff, resulted from a comprehensive evaluation of performance by the Pitchfork organization as a whole and sought to bring the brand maximum success within the larger organization.

This move will consequently lead to the exit of Pitchfork’s editor-in-chief, Puja Patel. The question of what happens to Pitchfork in the future, as it has become an iconic name in music journalism, can at least be raised. The uniqueness of Pitchfork’s voice and identity can be at sea with this recent development of merging with GQ.

Wednesday’s layoffs came as part of that restructuring—according to a source, the company laid off multiple employees including editor-in-chief Puja Patel. Some observers estimated the company shed well over a dozen jobs. It has not confirmed the specific number. With this redundancy, it looks like the company is reevaluating its digital portfolio and priorities, which in turn may lead to a redefined future for Pitchfork within its media ecosystem.

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Green Day criticize algorithms to find new music

The new album from Green Day, Saviors, was just released, but they won’t be happy if new fans discover them through algorithmic playlists. The trio recently told The Sun that it hated music discovery through algorithms because it was “lazy”.

Bassist Mike Dirnt continued by saying he was all for genuine music discovery, suggesting people wipe their search history clean to start from scratch. That’s certainly one way to go about it. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong picked up the thread from there, although he was more worried about the problems of misinformation and manipulation algorithms can bring to the content.

Where Armstrong lives is through the messaging in his songs, not on social media platforms. The band can’t deny how well the viral quality on TikTok reinvigorated their almost 30-year-old song “Brain Stew”.

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TikTok is currently experimenting with an AI Song feature

If you’re a musician, the initial feedback surrounding TikTok’s AI Song will have probably given you chills. But relax – the current tracks are more odd than groundbreaking. The application was built with the help of Bloom, which is a machine learning-powered language model, to help AI in writing its own lyrics and music from a text prompt.

If AI Song sounds complex, then some of the trial data produced, like Kristi Leilani’s session, will be surprising; her vocals are bizarrely off-pitch, bordering on intentional. In TikTok’s own words, AI Song is in testing, and the available library to the public comes from pre-save data from pop, hip-hop, and EDM music. In its current state, it’s more a bit of fun than any real platform.

It’s not clear where AI Song will end up, but today’s musicians already have much more sophisticated AI to copy any artist’s voice. Whether AI Song grows into a real tool for creativity or just a gimmick will surely be apparent within these coming years.

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Man plays Deftones while undergoing brain surgery

Christian Nolen is a devoted guitar player who was presented with the challenge of his life when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor on his right frontal lobe. Just ten days later, he was scheduled for surgery, but here’s the catch: Nolen was going to play his guitar while undergoing an awake craniotomy.

This groundbreaking method allowed surgeons to monitor and protect Nolen’s manual dexterity in real time while they were removing the tumor. Dr. Ricardo Komotar, of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, discussed why this method was necessary, pressing on the importance of constant monitoring to avoid damage to critical brain functions.

Midway through the surgery, Nolen’s hand function began to decline a bit, but the whole tumor was removed without damage to Nolen’s hand. Nolen’s recovery post-surgery has been nothing short of amazing, with great strides made in his left hand that will allow him to soon work out and play the guitar.

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The producer behind both Boney M and Milli Vanilli has died

The world of music is in mourning for Frank Farian, the mastermind behind the groups Boney M and Milli Vanilli, who has died at the age of 82, according to his representatives. Farian began his career as a singer and adopted the name Boney M in the ’70s, but it was the group he put together that found success.

Chart-toppers like “Daddy Cool” and “Rivers of Babylon” were everywhere, though Farian’s voice was the one on the recordings, not frontman Bobby Farrell. Farian’s ingenuity didn’t stop there, though; he repeated the trick with Milli Vanilli, though controversy dogged the band once it was revealed they were lip-syncing to tracks sung by other people.

With more than 850 million records sold and 800 gold and platinum discs received, Farian is one of the greatest pop producers in history. His influence on the entire music industry continues today and makes him a true legend.

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Guns N’ Roses publish AI-Generated music video

Guns N’ Roses recently debuted an AI-generated music video for their single “The General,” blending narrative storytelling with live performance footage. Released officially last December after its live premiere the previous month, the track, along with its predecessor, “Perhaps,” is contained in a 7-inch vinyl version.

Originally thought up as unreleased demos from the sessions for Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy, both numbers were re-recorded when guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan rejoined the lineup in 2016. The video shows Axl Rose and the band members performing, and their human image transitions to animated images.

The subconscious of a young boy facing the specters of dark childhood memories — merging realities in the process — drives the video, stated a press release. The video was created in collaboration with Dan Potter, a work that merges human creativity with artificial intelligence, promising to deliver a sight that no fan has ever seen from this band before.

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