New Material Courtesy of The xx
The xx have been teasing fans for a few weeks: teasing new lyrics, dropping a new single, and having the tracklist of their new album (out January 13th) leaked via Shazam just days before announcing the album’s release. Within a week of announcing the new album I See You, the xx also announced being part of the musical guests for this season of Saturday Night Live and will be appearing on this weekend’s episode, November 19th, hosted by Kristen Wiig. The group has officially taken it one step further, announcing an international tour kicking off later this month and sending some fans free tickets to concerts in certain cities. Whether the group is still gaining promotional momentum or if they’ll be replicating any of it with U.S. fans and tour dates is anyone’s guess.
Pianist Mose Allison Passes Away
Blues and jazz pianist Mose Allison passed away yesterday in his home of natural causes. Allison was born in the Mississippi Delta and began playing piano at the age of five, recreating songs heard on jukeboxes by ear. At the onset of his career, Allison’s ability to blend Delta blues, bebop, American pop, and even European classical led to indecision from his earliest labels on whether to bill Allison as a pop or blues artist. Ultimately, Mose Allison would transcend any categorization, putting out multiple crossover records and having his songs covered by everyone from the Who to Elvis Costello to the Clash to the Bangles. Mose would later go on to form his own trio while performing with jazz legends like Stan Getz and Zoot Sims. Allison retired from live performances in 2012, and a year later was names a jazz master by the National Endowment of the Arts. In a joint interview with the musician, Van Morrison called Mose Allison not only a musician, but a philosopher.
