L&Q Weekly
How your favourite musicians would like to die, Sacred Paws' new banjo direction, MJ Lenderman in London, SXSW comes to the UK, introducing the Bez Pez
Supported by Because Music
Podcast
Death! Like a begrudging respect for Robbie Williams, sadly, it comes to us all. Perhaps that’s why Stu has taken to asking our guests about the subject of the big sleep, which reminded us that there was a time when we asked a bunch of musicians what they thought was the perfect way to die in a regular interview feature in the magazine. On this week’s podcast we revisit those answers from 2014 – 2017, make our case for SZA to have another go at Glastonbury, review new documentary Boy Bands Forever, unpack the new proposed levy that supports grassroots venues and, somewhat tragically, discuss the new song by Mark Zuckerberg. Available on podcast apps now. Or listen on loudandquiet.com
Track of the week
Is the banjo about become the saxophone of 2025? If three’s a trend, I’ll point you towards a previous TOTW by lobby and word that Black Country, New Road drummer Charlie Wayne was recently seen wielding the instrument as the band showcased their latest (once again very different) sound at a show in London. Now Glasgow/London duo Sacred Paws – after 5 years away – have returned with a new single that features a LOT of banjo, played by guitarist and singer Ray Aggs’ father. Once offering us a spiky take on Afrobeat, the duo’s new song ‘Another Day’ speaks more to the Scottish indie pop side of the group, sounding like it could have come from Sarah Records in the late 1980s rather than Mogwai’s Rock Action today.
3 Sentence Live Review
MJ LENDERMAN – THE GARAGE, ISLINGTON, 18 NOV: Although largely static throughout, along with rest of his 6-piece band, the indie rock Man Of The Year, boyishly handsome and upsettingly gifted in the art of Americana melodies, starts his first band show in the UK strongly, to say the least. ‘Wristwatch’ is chucked out third, and perhaps the show should have finished around the perfect 45-minute mark, rather than another 40 minutes after that. Lenderman knew what he was doing holding on to ‘Knockin’ for the finale though, barked back at him by every dude here, and the three women too. Stuart Stubbs
Name Dropper
Also on our Substack this week, an all new Name Dropper article where Stuart Stubbs recalls what it was like to spend a weekend in New York with punk band Show Me The Body, launching their debut album in a salsa studio in Chinatown (above), being forced to host an afterparty, wowing them with his lack of ice cream cake experience, locked in a battle of wits as the band tried to run down the clock on a photoshoot they clearly didn’t want to happen. Currently for paid substack members, but you can start a free 7 day trial now to unlock it for nothing. Read here
SXSW London
SXSW is coming to the UK for the first time in 2025. Announced a month ago, the famed Austin, Texas conference, made up of tech, music and film and TV showcases, keynotes and workshops, will run in London’s Shoreditch area from 2-7 June of next year. This week passes have gone on sale for the 3 strands of the event (conference, music and screen), with a 25% discount in place until 19 December. Organisers have said that a further 500+ passes will be given to local charity and community groups in east London. Full info here
Rumour of the Week
With Christmas around the corner – or Pezmas, as the workers at the Pez factory are encouraged to called it – it won’t be long before hundreds of parents will be grabbing handful of the colourful despensers off the shelves to fill their children’s stockings with, once again forgetting just how rancid the sweets themselves taste. One baggy legend is rumoured to want in on the seasonal swindle this year, with a limited edition Bez Pez said to be in the works. As well as featuring the Happy Mondays man’s face on the dispenser, as you’d imagine, Bez’s Pez pellets will, for the first time, be embossed with an ‘E’, that will apparently stands for ‘Enjoy this Pez’. Bez’s Pez are said to be chalky in substance and best swallowed whole – of just half if that’s all you fancy – as are all standard Pez that will disapoint thousands of children this year.