THE WEEKLY WRAP | 05/04/2024
The Weekly Wrap is a look at the biggest stories in music all collected in one place for your reading ease.
ego: the Michael Gudinski story coming to the small screen next week
The passing of legendary Aussie promoter Michael Gudinski sent shock waves around the music world in 2021. The music entrepreneur lived life to the fullest across his 68 years, helping nurture the careers of Skyhooks, Kylie Minogue, The Temper Trap, Paul Kelly and many more.
In celebration of the great man’s life, a documentary charting his career and the impact he had on the Australian music scene was released in cinemas last year. The two-hour tribute, Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story, is finally coming to the small screen next week.
Channel 7 has acquired the rights to the doco that will screen next Tuesday April 9 at 7:30pm. The movie documents Gudinski’s time with both Mushroom Group and Frontier Touring and features interviews with heavy hitters in the music community, including Dave Grohl, Shirley Manson, Bruce Springsteen and Sting.
Ego: The Michael Gudniski Story premiers on Channel 7 on Tuesday April 9 at 7:30pm.
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Share Wild God Album Trailer
If you aren’t up and about with the news surrounding Wild God, the new album from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, then this album trailer should get you in the mood.
The two-minute and fifteen-second clip shows the band in the studio working on the record, with Cave mentioning “that felt pretty good” during the rehearsals.
The band’s tenth album is produced by Cave and Warren Ellis and features ten tracks, including the titular first single.
A couple of special guests also pop up in the trailer – Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood and filmmaker Andrew Dominick, both artists who have collaborated with Cave in the past.
Wild God is set for release on August 30. You can pre-save and pre-order the album here.
idles announce 2025 Australian tour but skip Adelaide
British punk rockers IDLES are heading back to Australia in support of their latest album, Tangk.
The band, who were just here last year, will play one show in Auckland in January next year before hitting Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Sadly, little old Adelaide doesn’t make the cut, with fans of the hardcore act having to head interstate to catch them live.
Tickets for all three shows go on sale next Tuesday April 9 at 12:30pm. There are also two pre-sale options, with Mastercard users able to get tickets from 11:30am today, Friday April 5, and Live Nation members getting the chance to grab tickets on Monday April 8 from 12:30pm.
For more details head to livenation.com.
Spotify Jacking Up The Price Again
You’d think Spotify founder Daniel Ek would have enough money in the bank to live a chill life, but it seems not. His company has just announced another price rise is on the cards.
According to Bloomberg, subscribers in countries such as America, Australia and the UK will face a $1 increase for individual plans and $2 for family plans.
Spotify is also set to introduce a new “basic tier” that will cost $11 per month but won’t include audiobooks.
Spotify hasn’t announced when these price changes will come into effect, but users won’t be overly happy considering the streaming platform increased prices in July of last year.
We’re pretty sure Neil Young won’t be a fan either.
Glass Animals Announce New Album I Love You So F***ing Much
UK indie rockers Glass Animals have this week revealed their fourth album, I Love You So F***ing Much, is coming this July.
The follow-up to 2020s Dreamland will consist of ten tracks, including the first single ‘Creatures in Heaven’.
Speaking about the track’s existential themes, frontman Dave Bayley says: “It’s about a moment in time, be it a split second or a year or whatever, having the capacity to be enormously formative and life-changing. Even if it is over. Or if it doesn’t go as planned. Or if it dies too soon. It is still fucking beautiful. The love and care and the feeling in that moment lives forever. It never really dies. If that’s how you choose to see it.”
You can watch the film clip for ‘Creatures in Heaven’ opposite. I Love You So F***ing Much will hit streaming services and record stores on Friday July 19.
You can pre-order and pre-save the album here.
Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams involved in legal dispute OVer The Neptues Name
Things are not well in The Neptunes camp. The famous producing duo behind Justin Timberlake’s ‘Rock Your Body”, Kelis’ ‘Milkshakes’ and Snoop Dogg’s ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ are at odds over sole control of their musical partnership.
According to Billboard, Hugo has claimed Williams is “fraudulently” trying to take control of The Neptunes' name after filing sole ownership claims.
“Throughout their over 30-year history, [Hugo] and Williams agreed to, and in fact, have divided all assets,” Hugo’s attorney Kenneth D. Freundlich said in a statement. “By ignoring and excluding [Hugo] from the any and all applications filed by applicant for the mark ‘The Neptunes,’ applicant has committed fraud in securing the trademarks and acted in bad faith.”
Williams’ rep has claimed there are no nefarious reasons behind the trademark filings and said in a statement to Billboard, “The goal here was to make sure a third party doesn’t get a hold of the trademark and to guarantee Chad and Pharrell share in ownership and administration.”
Although the duo hasn’t made any music together since 2022, we hope they can sort out their issues and get back to producing hits.
Bluesfest will ‘125 million per cent’ Return in 2025
Australia’s festival scene is in tatters with the recent cancellations of Groovin’ the Moo and Splendour in the Grass, but there’s an outlier: Bluesfest.
In a statement issued by Bluesfest director Peter Noble, he claimed that Bluesfest will “125 million per cent” return in 2025, which is great news for music lovers.
Although crowd numbers didn't break any attendance records, this year’s festival was on par with the 2023 edition.
“We have held our position, and as much as we would like to see more people come, it's not going to happen until the interest rates drop,” Noble said. “We do ask our government to support our industry until then.”
In a further sign all things are rosy with the Byron music festival, early bird tickets for the 2025 event are on sale and “already selling well.”
Head to bluesfest.com.au to secure your early bird tickets.
Friday Five
It’s AFL Gather Round this weekend in Adelaide so today’s Friday Five is a list of our favourite football anthems.
1. Hunters & Collectors – ‘Holy Grail’
2. Greg Champion – ‘That’s the Thing About Football’
3. Paul Kelly – ‘Leaps and Bounds’
4. Mike Brady – ‘Up There Cazaly’
5. TISM – ‘Shut Up – The Footy’s on the Radio’
