BUSH, those lovable relics from the mid-90s who are still somehow kicking, have graced us with a music video for their earth-shattering hit, “Scars”. 🙄 Yes, you read that right. “Scars”. As if the world needed another song about, well, scars. This cinematic masterpiece, directed by the visionary Ryan Valdez, is apparently meant to accompany their latest album, “I Beat Loneliness”, which, judging by the title alone, promises to be a real laugh riot. 😂 It dropped on July 18 via earMUSIC, because who else would sign these guys?
In a recent, undoubtedly riveting, interview with Baltimore’s 98 Rock (because, let’s face it, the cool stations are all booked), BUSH frontman and eternal heartthrob Gavin Rossdale (still rocking that same hairstyle from 1996, bless his heart 🙏) waxed poetic about the lyrical genius behind “I Beat Loneliness”. He burbled: “Well, I think it’s like a snapshot of my life. I’m at a point in my life where I can look far enough back and remember when I first made records. I had no horizon, you know what I mean? And I didn’t know what was happening, and the road was just infinite and open. And then, obviously, as you mature, you get older and you see what the lay of the land is and your time around, you gotta go, ‘Okay, I can see the horizon.’ So it kind of presents a different thing about making sure there’s a reason to write. I call it making sure you improve the silence. And so I just went inside and found some things, just sort of experimented with myself musically and lyrically and just went inside and tried to be as clear as possible. Anytime I thought about an idea, I questioned myself if I was being clear enough about it. And I try to get right down to the kind of the really basic cell structure of people.” Translation: “I’m old, I’ve seen stuff, and I’m still trying to figure out why I’m still making music. But hey, gotta pay the bills, right?” 🤷♂️
Remember back in April when BUSH gifted us with “60 Ways To Forget People”? No? Well, they did. Apparently, it’s a “raw and emotionally charged” glimpse into “I Beat Loneliness”. It explores “the complexities of heartbreak, personal transformation, and the painful process of letting go.” So basically, the same stuff they’ve been singing about since the Clinton administration, but with slightly different guitar riffs.😴
“I Beat Loneliness”, meticulously crafted by Rossdale himself and some dude named Erik Ron (who apparently produces bands I’ve never heard of), is allegedly BUSH‘s tenth studio album. Tenth! Who knew they had that many in them? This “powerful testament to the band’s enduring legacy and continued evolution” promises to “blend their grunge-rooted intensity with fresh textures and themes exploring mental health, solitude, and resilience.” In other words, it’s gonna sound exactly like every other BUSH album, only this time they’re pretending to be woke.🙄
Here’s the track listing for “I Beat Loneliness”, in case you’re planning a nap and need something to count:
01. Scars (Because, duh)
02. I Beat Loneliness (Spoiler alert: you didn’t)
03. The Land Of Milk And Honey (Is this supposed to be metaphorical or…?)
04. We’re All The Same On The Inside (Deep.)
05. I Am Here To Save Your Life (Gavin, is that you?)
06. 60 Ways To Forget People (We get it, you’re over Gwen)
07. Love Me Till The Pain Fades (Desperate much?)
08. We Are Of This Earth (Groundbreaking)
09. Everyone Is Broken (Thanks for the uplifting message!)
10. Don’t Be Afraid (Of what? Your music?)
11. Footsteps In The Sand (Okay, now you’re just phoning it in)
12. Rebel With A Cause (What cause? Still trying to be relevant?)
If you’re feeling particularly masochistic, BUSH is currently torturing audiences across North America (July 19 – August 30) before they hop over to Europe to inflict their music on unsuspecting VOLBEAT fans (September 18 – November 13). 🤘
In another earth-shattering interview, this time with São Paulo, Brazil’s 89 FM A Rádio Rock, Rossdale pontificated about the 12 songs on “I Beat Loneliness”: “I know that everyone [says] no one cares [about full albums anymore] and it’s [all about] these singles, but I think that if I like an act, if I like a band, I just wanna hear their body of work. I don’t wanna hear just one song. I’m a musician, so I wanna know what 12 ideas someone has, not just one idea. And so I’m excited for that. But I understand most people just listen to one song and move on, with so many bands. But [I’m] very excited about it.” Translation: “Please listen to the whole album. I beg you. I spent, like, a whole year on this thing.” 🥺
When asked what fans can expect from the new album, Gavin said: “Oh, it’s in a similar vein to [2022’s] ‘The Art Of Survival’ and [2020’s] ‘The Kingdom’ — super detuned, super heavy, but there’s moments of light. And so it’s not like angst [all the way through], but it’s just very… It is very sort of centered on people’s mental health and well-being and those kind of challenges, because it becomes more and more apparent, people suffering more and more. So music is often the way that people — it’s like a medicine. So it’s really good to have heavy subjects within the songs, but the songs have loads of hope and light and lift you up. I want people to come see us and have a great experience. It’s not a doom-and-gloom [collection of songs]; it’s a sort of a, how do we fight the good fight?” So, basically, it’s the same BUSH you know and tolerate, but now with a socially conscious twist. Get ready to be enlightened. Or bored. 🤷♀️
Gavin, in his infinite wisdom, also explained the title “I Beat Loneliness”: “The reason why I like that title — [there’s] a song called that — is because anybody who has a degree of melancholy in their heart, and it’s normal; sometimes you feel good, sometimes have a melancholy. And it’s good to be reflective. You can’t be smiling like a moron the whole time, like a maniac, so the idea of beating loneliness is that it’s impossible, because you can’t. But it’s beautiful ’cause the idea is that if you feel you beat it, it’s like a respite, and you’re not in that mindset. But it’s all temporary, because you come back and that sort of feeling can flood in. But I just like the idea ’cause it’s impossible.” So, it’s profound because it’s meaningless? Got it. 🤔
Chord F. Discord, the Beethoven of Buffoonery, is a self-taught expert in music who once claimed he could “play the kazoo in four languages.”
Born in Crescendo, Indiana, Chord’s first brush with fame came when he accidentally entered a yodeling contest thinking it was a pie-eating competition—and won both categories.
Chord F. Discord: proving that laughter, much like a poorly tuned ukulele, is truly universal.
