The Wrap-Up brings you the 5 largest music news stories of the week as well as information about new album and music video releases. This week: crazy collaborations, a comeback featuring a singing talk show host, fresh music, and jam judgments.  

HEADLINES OF THE WEEK

 

1. Pearl Jam resurface in 2015 to sing with Stephen Colbert

With the absence of any new music or live performances, Pearl Jam have had a quiet 2015 – up until this Wednesday. They had their first live performance of the year when they dropped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. After performing their 2013 single “Mind Your Manners,” they responded to the classic end-of-show audience chant, “One more song!” (Pretty sure we’ve all been guilty of joining that chant at some point in our lives…) They then erupted into a cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” during which Colbert hopped in to fulfill all of his childhood rockstar dreams. Not letting Jimmy Fallon have all of the fun of being the only singing late night talk show host, Colbert harmonized with Eddie Vedder’s steady baritone. And despite the slight awkwardness of his mid-performance handbanging, jumping, and hair flips, we can’t say we’d have much better stage presence than Colbert when sharing the spotlight with one of the biggest bands in alternative.  

2. Foo Fighters perform with Stevie Nicks and Haim on tour

The Wrap-Up and Under the Covers universes collided twice this week. At their Los Angeles show, the Foo Fighters brought out the legendary Stevie Nicks and the pop rock trio Haim for performances of Nick’s collaboration with Tom Petty, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Gold Dust Woman.” With Dave Grohl still performing on his badass rock throne, the synchronized swaying of the Haim sisters, and Nick’s ethereal command of the stage, you can’t really pick one area to focus on during the performance. Overall, it’s an unusual, but awesome spectacle that brought together classic rock, modern alternative, and pop rock.  

3. Lorde drops a new song with Disclosure

Lorde and electronic duo Disclosure teamed up for the smooth mid-tempo track “Magnets,” which appears on Disclosure’s new album Caracal. In an interview with Zane Lowe, Lorde revealed, “The song is about that moment you realize you’re about to do something that’s wrong and you’re not in your right mind because you’re blinded by how badly you want to do whatever it is.” Regarding the progress of her next album, she shared, “I think I just hit on the sonic blueprint of it, which is exciting.” It’s an ambiguous statement (we would’ve gladly taken an album release date), but combined with “Magnets,” it’s enough to tie us over for now in our wait for the follow-up to Pure Heroine.  

4. Kurt Cobain 7″ will be out in November

The Kurt Cobain biopic Montage of Heck may have lost at the Emmy’s last week, but luckily we can still treasure the music from the film. On November 20, a 7″ containing Cobain’s cover of the Beatles’ “And I Love Her” and the track “Sappy” will be released and you can pre-order it here. If you’re not one for vinyl, there’s still hope – you can grab the Montage of Heck soundtrack and DVD on November 6.  

5. Arcade Fire announce and release Reflektor deluxe edition

Arcade Fire are continuing their chain of September releases with the deluxe edition of their 2013 record Reflektor. The deluxe edition was announced on Tuesday and is out today, featuring new songs “Apocrypha,” “Women of a Certain Age,” “Flashbulb Eyes” (Dennis Bovell remix feat. Linton Kwesi Johnson), “Soft Power,” “Get Right” and “Crucified Again.” And just when you thought they wouldn’t have anymore releases, Arcade Fire announced that the six new tracks will have a limited edition cassette release that hits shelves on October 16, just one day before Cassette Store Day. Also, if you ever wanted to know if Arcade Fire thinks some of those annoying pop songs you may hear out and about are “jams,” check out the video above. (We’re curious to know if their criteria for what makes a “jam” are as rigid as these standards.)  

And here are your 12 CUTS ABOVE THE REST!