Welcome back to Pop Loser! This week, unexpected worlds collided: Bono and Dan Savage, John Wilson and Harry Styles, and David Byrne and Oliva Rodrigo. Joni Mitchell can now vote in the US. Plus, a shout-out to the cool goth working at Double Dare Records in Burien who was blasting Switchblade Symphony on Saturday morning.
This Week in Music:
This week in Strangerland, local hip-hop group 4ust Collective stopped by the office for another episode of Noise Complaint.
Bono quoted Dan Savage. While a part of me hoped that the quote involved pegging, “fucking first,” or dangers of being in a PUD (Poly Under Duress) relationship, Bono revealed it was Savage’s powerful insight regarding the AIDS crisis that helped inspire U2’s new album, Carnaval De Luz. Bono told the New York Times: “There’s a Dan Savage quote about when he was an AIDS activist in San Francisco in the middle of that crisis. He said: ‘In the morning, we would bury our friends. In the afternoon, we’d go out to protest so we’d have less people to bury. Then, in the evenings, we would go out and dance, because the dance was what we were fighting for.’ I loved that so much. That is not surrendering to the melancholy. That’s the defiance.”
Joni Mitchell can now vote in the US. In an Instagram post shared last Tuesday, Mitchell announced that after a 62-year-long journey, she’s officially become a US citizen. On Thursday, she posted another statement to socials, clarifying to the haters that she became a citizen so that she could vote: “I didn’t give up my Canadian citizenship, and I never will,” she wrote. “I’m a proud Canerican like Neil Young.”
The History of Harry. It was announced this week that documentarian John Wilson (whose new film The History of Concrete has been doing numbers at the box office) has been filming Harry Styles’s 30-night Madison Square Garden residency for an upcoming tour documentary. I think this is a fun idea, and with Paul Thomas Anderson’s Cameron Winter Live at Carnegie Hall dropping next month, it seems like film auteurs making concert movies is back in style. Next, I’d like to see Werner Herzog direct a Post Malone concert film.
Billy Joel might never perform again. On Thursday, the Piano Man sent a health update to The Hollywood Reporter. “What the neurologist told me, every time you do a show, it’s like you’re getting a concussion,” Joel disclosed, adding that he currently isn’t allowed to drive, and won’t know if he can get back on stage or his beloved motorcycles until further testing is done. Joel underwent surgery early last year and canceled his remaining tour dates following a diagnosis of hydrocephalus, a neurological condition that has impacted his balance.
New music incoming: Lana Del Rey joined Zach Bryan on his new song “Lies.” Blondie announced their first album in nine years. Brother of the dearly departed neo-soul icon D’Angelo confirmed that a posthumous album is on the way. Chappell Roan joined Oliva Rodrigo on her “Expectations” remix with a candy-colored music video, complete with a David Byrne cameo, incredible wigs, and Jetsons-style animation.
Now, take a deep breath and enjoy…Cardi B on NPR’s Tiny Desk.
Music Events Worth Your Hard-Earned Money This Week:
Debt Rag, Miscomings, DJ Martin Douglas Oct 21, Sunset Tavern, 8 pm, 21+
2026 Icons of Pop Culture Gala with Salt-N-Pepa Oct 22, MOPOP, 8:30 pm, 21+
Afrocop, The Vardaman Ensemble, Passenger Pigeon Oct 23, Southgate Roller Rink, 9 pm, 21+
Noches de Rock en Español: Halloween Edition Oct 23, Baba Yaga, 8 pm, 21+
Phoebe Bridgers: The Lost Tour Oct 23, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages
Dinosaur Jr. with Stef Chura Oct 23–24, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Bedouine with Other Delights Oct 24, Ballard Homestead, 7:30 pm, all ages
Laura Veirs with Karl Blau Oct 25, Tractor Tavern, 7:30 pm, 21+
The Chicks: Taking the Long Way Oct 25–26, Benaroya Hall, 8:30 pm, all ages
Kacey Musgraves: Middle of Nowhere Tour Oct 26–27, Climate Pledge Arena, all ages
she’s green Oct 27, Baba Yaga, 7 pm, all ages
The Songs That Keep Me Up at Night:
“Gutter Glitter” by Switchblade Symphony
Shout out to the cool goth working at Double Dare Records in Burien who was blasting Switchblade Symphony on Saturday morning. I’d never heard of this band before, but they sound like if Siouxsie and the Banshees sang nursery rhymes, dressed like kinderwhore haunted dolls. I’m obsessed.
“Human Angel” by June McDoom
June McDoom is our modern-day Enya. She blends folk, ambient, medieval chanting, and dub into a healing balm for your nervous system. Her newest album, Follow The Light, is out now.
