Punk Futures

My favorite sentence in any recent music story: "'I grew up with the DIY culture of punk, going to punk shows, making mixtapes—with the idea that anyone can do whatever,' said ELOISE, who is finishing seventh grade." Eloise, who, I will repeat for emphasis, is finishing seventh grade, is the bassist/singer with the KIM SHATTUCK/JOAN JETT growl in the LINDA LINDAS, who are riding the hottest viral rock and roll wave since OLIVIA RODRIGO—who, for what it's worth, is nearly twice as old as Linda Lindas drummer MILA, Eloise's co-writer and co-lead vocalist on "RACIST, SEXIST BOY." All four Linda Lindas seem remarkably self-aware, well adjusted and ready for this, should this amount to more than a viral moment. "Do people like us just because we’re young and we’re girls and we’re Asian and Latina?," Mila's sister LUCIA asks in this Guardian story. "What happens when we get older?" Are any other 14-year-olds asking these questions? Are any 28-year-olds asking these questions? These particular DIY punk rock kids have well connected music and media parents, which no doubt helps, but thousands and thousands of LA kids have well connected parents and I don't see any of them blowing up KATHLEEN HANNA's Twitter feed. Or spending more time going to punk shows and making mixtapes than making TIKTOKs. (Only one member of the band, 16-year-old BELA, is on social media, and she's the one who wishes the band had waited another week to go viral because she's in the middle of finals.) And then there's the matter of the viral hit itself, in which, with perrrfect riot grrrl guitar tones, they navigate back-and-forth through a tricky tempo change and promise to "rebuild what you destroy," which, for a moment anyway, makes me feel good about the future. Not just their future. All our futures. (As for oldster Olivia Rodrigo, here are seven more pop-punk-adjacent artists who Steregum's DANIELLE CHELOSKY says fans "should check out next.")

Plus Also Too

A TIKTOK radio station will launch this summer on SIRIUSXM, which makes exactly as much sense—is anything more pop right now than TikTok?—as it doesn't make sense—how could a satellite radio station possibly compete with TikTok itself? It's part of a wider partnership between Sirius, TikTok and PANDORA that will see programming and branding shred across the three platforms. Reminder: TikTok has more than twice as many monthly active users worldwide than SPOTIFY does... BRUNO MARS has sold a majority stake in his songwriting catalog to WARNER CHAPPELL... And today seems like a good day to mention that no-waver LYDIA LUNCH's life's work, including "all intellectual rights" in nearly 400 songs, her published writing and her art and "the majority of her master recordings," is currently for sale... Bassist DAVID ELLEFSON has been kicked out of MEGADETH, the band he co-founded 38 years ago, in the wake of allegations that he groomed an underaged girl. "While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward," frontman DAVE MUSTAINE tweeted. Ellefson has denied the allegations.

Rest in Peace

MICHEL BAUMANN aka SOULPHICTION, DJ, producer and founder of the PHILPOT label.