By Karen Glauber

Those of us who started our careers in ’80s College radio are having a field day with Vice President Kamala Harris’ pick of Governor Tim Walz, whom we now know is an avowed fan of The Replacements, Hüsker Du, Warren Zevon, Prince and Bruce Springsteen as well as an epic person. He’s just like us, except nicer, and we strongly suspect he could also speak fluently about Soul Asylum and The Jayhawks, while he’s undoubtedly a fan of Semisonic and Peter Himmelman. For the first time in months, I’m feeling cautiously optimistic about the presidential race. Maybe, just maybe, the national nightmare of Trump will finally end.

If you want to know where the country is heading, look at the crowd that Chappell Roan drew at Lollapalooza—one of the biggest in festival history, with 80,000 fans (three times the population of my hometown) performing the choreography to “HOT TO GO!” This community of young people who were never the popular ones possesses the collective power to literally change the world. I hope these kids vote.

After 24 years on the air, Kansas City’s The Buzz is now a sports station, with brilliant air talent Lazlo segueing over to KQRC, the rock station in the market. When Lazlo programmed KRBZ, the station was the first to support bands like Glass Animals, Phoenix, The Lumineers and Spoon, while staying true to its Midwest roots. The argument was always, “But, it can work in Kansas City,” and I’m still friendly with contest winners from The Buzz that I met during the many promotions Lazlo and I set up. Unfortunately, despite the KRBZ’s decent-to-stellar ratings, the sales team couldn’t sell it. Losing WWCD and KRBZ this year really hurts those of us who believe that radio is an important part of breaking an artist.

Ted and I have been anxiously awaiting the release of the new beabadoobee album, This is How Tomorrow Moves, and lead track “Beaches,” our first single for Alternative. The song is currently #1 on Spotify’s New Music Friday and her photo highlights the Lorem playlist, along with a note that reads, “someone tell rob the new beabadoobee album is here.” If you watched Love Island, you’ll know what this means. The album, produced by Rick Rubin at his Shangri-La studios in Malibu, will solidify her as a huge star. We’re going for adds on “Beaches” on 8/19, but early airplay is most welcome.

I celebrated my birthday by seeing Spoon in Solana Beach. For some reason, Spoon is always in Southern California on the week of my birthday, and I am grateful to celebrate with them.

Happy to see that Myles Smith is Top 10 at the format right now—this is a fantastic achievement for Gary Gorman, the man who will be your concierge for the next two nights of Foo Fighters shows at BMO in scenic downtown L.A. I’m taking the kid tonight (8/9), and we’ll be there in time to see The Hives open.

I was telling a manager what it costs to run an Alternative promotion campaign. $20,000 to chart is my best estimate, unless you have a record that radio programmers hear at first listen. I’ve had maybe one of those in my entire career: Kongos’ “Come With Me Now.” The remaining thousand-plus songs I’ve worked have been a challenge. It should be easier now, with the metrics of streaming identifying which songs people care about, but Alternative is one of the few formats that doesn’t look at streaming, even when it’s the primary story. All you can do is hope that the proverbial gods are aligned and that these programmers like your record. I just hope that the format I helped build 40+ years ago sticks around for another seven or so years, or until I die at my desk.

Props to Michael Starr at Glassnote on his success with bby’s “Kinky.” His band Phoenix and fellow French group AIR are closing out the Paris Olympics this weekend. That will be epic.

Speaking of French bands, Audacy added Justice’s “Neverender” featuring Tame Impala. Also added was the new one by the Smashing Pumpkins, “Sighommi,” which Mike DePippa is working. Both are songs to hear.

By Karen Glauber

Oh my g-d, I fucking hate this summer, almost as much as I adore the new Glass Animals album I Love You So F**ing Much. Apart from welcome musical events like Guster with the L.A. Phil; or Guster’s evening of music and comedy featuring my most favorite Alex Edelman, plus Sir Patrick Stewart; or Guster at a music-sync brunch at Steve Nice’s house, my idea of a “Brat summer” has been deeply unrealized. At least I kept my kid spared from COVID, even as it made its way through his father’s household.

I’m grateful to have tickets to see Spoon in Solana Beach on 8/4 with my plus-one, Garett Michaels. My birthday is the next day, which also marks 40+ years since Mark Williams hired me at A&M. Maybe I picked the wrong career, but loyalty is everything to me. Relationships with bands and peers can last decades, going back to meeting Simple Minds when I was 20, or meeting Jacqueline Saturn when she worked at Savage Records, or Robbie Lloyd when he worked at Cargo, then Alias, then Epitaph.

This weekend, Merge Records is celebrating its 35th anniversary. Many congrats to Mac and Laura and staff members—like Christina—who have been devoted to them for years. Twelve years ago on this day (7/26), The Lumineers played a Sound Space for KROQ, hosted by Nicole Alvarez, with zero audience members. Every employee and every band has to start somewhere. The joy comes from playing a role in their ascendance. Jeff Regan, Miles Anzaldo and Brad Steiner should be watching what is happening with Royel Otis with deep pride—they believed in this band from the start and have done everything within their power to make sure others followed suit. Lead cheerleader Dave Lombardi has done a masterful job shepherding this band through multiple hits, as he did previously with Lovejoy.

I was able to get friends of mine the VIP tour at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame today, and they sent a photo with Jon Wuster, another VIP attendee, who is now playing in The Mountain Goats, although we met when he played in Superchunk. It really is a small world, and even though I feel tethered to my house watching @trackstarshow on Instagram, I’m happy to see friends meet other friends meet other friends, etc., etc.

On 8/9, beabadoobee will be releasing her third album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves, along with our single for Alternative, “Beaches.” I’m so excited for this record!... I expect her album debut to be as impressive as those for Clairo’s Charm and Cigarettes After Sex’s X’s, two of the biggest indie alt debuts of the year.

Michael Starr is impacting bby’s “Kinky”—which the format agrees is a banger—this week. How fun to have truly alternative bands at the format! Another favorite, Fontaines D.C., is on fire with “Starburster”; Risa Matsuki at Beggars has made it her mission to break this song. I love this band and always have.

Sometimes a one-listen smash seemingly comes out of nowhere, like Honestav’s “I’d Rather Overdose,” which is being quarterbacked by Bill Burrs and has amassed 38 MILLION streams on Spotify before radio. Our pal Mod Sun added a verse, which makes it abundantly clear that the song is about sobriety and not about glorifying abuse. Jeez… Bleachers just released “Margaret,” recorded with Jeff Tweedy at Chicago’s Salt Shed in back in May. That was an exceptional show, which I attended with Michelle Rukowski from WLUM, Jeannine Moose from WKQX, Amy Kaplan, Scott Burton, Allison Smith and my kid.

Gary Gorman has earned his vacation, with Myles Smith’s genius “Stargazing” now added to Custom at iHeart and Cage the Elephant nearing Top 10. He’ll be back in time for the Foo Fighters shows at BMO in L.A. Enjoy your time off, Gary.

The song of the summer is Hozier’s “Too Sweet,” which will be perched at #1 for the foreseeable future. Perfect song.

I hope you’re all committed to supporting Kamala Harris’ campaign for President. Joe Biden, like Gary Gorman, has earned the right to a vacation. He has served us well.

SONGS TO HEAR: Anything on Spotify’s Lorem playlist—one of my favorite ways to hear new music.

By Karen Glauber

In a summer of few highlights, no vacations planned and a kid who just wants to play video games, I’m grateful that we left the house to see Beck at the Hollywood Bowl. Accompanied by the L.A. Philharmonic, this was Beck at his finest. We’ve all seen him multiple times through the years, including a show at the Bowl 16 years ago, when the kid kicked the crap out of me (in utero) during opening act Spoon’s set. It was hard not to feel emotional during Beck’s two Scott Walker covers (IYKYK), or prideful as the crowd of 20,000 bore witness to Beck’s evolution as one of the most important artists of our (Modern Rock) generation. Orville Peck joins up with Beck on a new single, “Death Valley High,” released today (Friday, 7/12) on Warner. More extraordinary work from Beck! Thank you, Gaby, for the tickets.

It’s been a blast to watch AJR become an arena band. They’re poised to sell out the Forum this weekend, meaning another night out for the kid and me. The last time we saw AJR was during Julian’s b’nai mitzvah two years ago. Mom’s night out is Saturday, with The Afghan Whigs and The Church, two bands I never thought I’d see again. I was talking to Lisa Sonkin yesterday about how huge an impact the Whigs’ Gentleman—a sexy art-rock respite in the midst of grunge—had on us in 1993. We all swooned to Greg Dulli back then, and I’m looking forward to seeing the band again.

Most of my friends went to see The Rolling Stones this week. If you have a chance to see artists you’ve always admired, you should go—it could be your last opportunity. Ever since The Zombies started touring again, I’ve seen them countless times. There is nothing better than to hear the harmonies on “A Rose for Emily” or Colin Blunstone’s impeccable phrasing on “This Will Be Our Year.” Recently, Rod Argent had a stroke and has sworn off touring indefinitely. I’m grateful to have had Colin on my SXSW panel, performing with The Lemon Twigs, and I wish them all a wonderful retirement.

Many congratulations to Amber Miller, most recently the MD at WRFF, on her new on-air gig at WXPN. This is phenomenal news!

Later today, I’ll venture over to Amoeba Records for the Cigarettes After Sex in-store. X’s, their latest album, is out, and it’s my favorite of the three they’ve released. Out next week is the new Glass Animals album, I Love You So F***ing Much, which is absolutely tremendous. Republic’s Amanda Dobbins has a lot going on, including the new James Bay single, “Up All Night,” which features Noah Kahan and The Lumineers, out 7/19. For those of us who have been eagerly anticipating new music from The Lumineers, I’ve been told to circle 2025 on our calendars.

One of the biggest songs on Shazam right now is Eddie Vedder’s version of The English Beat’s “Save It For Later.” Actually, Eddie is doing a cover of Pete Townshend’s version of the song, released in 1986 on Deep End Live! So it’s a cover of a cover, featured on The Bear… Guster will be playing two shows in L.A., including one with the L.A. Philharmonic. As long as they play “Two Points for Honesty,” I’ll forget what a difficult, COVID-stricken summer it’s been.

While Nick Attaway is vacationing in Provence, ALT98.7 and DC101 come in on Sum41’s “Dopamine.” At this point, my idea of a vacation would be sitting poolside (in the shade), reading a book. I’m excited to read Infinite Dreams: The Life of Alan Vega (with a forward by Bruce Springsteen). Alan’s band Suicide had a huge influence on countless bands, including Depeche Mode, New Order, U2 and Springsteen, who covered their song “Dream Baby Dream.”

We picked a beabadoobee single for Alternative: “Beaches.” We’re very excited for you to hear it.

So if we’ve learned anything this week, (1) You should see every show you can, while you can, and (2) we all managed to function without Mediabase for a day.

SONG TO HEAR: Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather.”

By Karen Glauber

beabadoobee (photo by Jules Moskovtchenko)

On the mend from bout #5 of COVID. Ten days of quarantine, two days of Paxlovid (which helped the first burst of symptoms) and, thankfully (so far), no rebound. Flying home from NYC after Indie Week, I had the feeling I wouldn’t be spared. On the upside, it doesn’t appear I infected anyone, and still managed to see Illinoise and Stereophonic on Broadway, as well as spend quality time with Audacy’s Christine Malovetz, Universal Music Publishing’s Erin Blankstein, super-lawyer Gillian Bar, talent-booker extraordinaire Sandy Alouete and ADA chief Cat Kreidich. My best friend from college had two tickets to see Patti Smith and Joan Baez in conversation at Symphony Space, both promoting their latest books. It felt truly empowering to be around so many incredible women during my weekend in NYC.

Once home, I stayed in bed, with season three of Bridgerton as my companion. The first season coincided with my first bout of COVID, in December, 2020. When Bridgerton ended, I watched way too many episodes of Love Island, pausing to tape the part where Rob extols the virtues of beabadoobee to his island girl, while insulting her affection for Ed Sheeran. Ask Ted—I sent him whatever I taped. I also read a new cookbook called Open Wide by Benny Bianco. I mostly know Benny as the adoring boyfriend of Selena Gomez, whom I know from Only Murders in the Building. This cookbook is a really fun read, kind of like reading fantasy or science fiction for those of us who can’t cook, and definitely worth acquiring.

My taste has always been far to the left of pop music, but I love that KNDD Seattle added Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” While they’ll never “own” the artist in the market, Chappell is wildly talented and a fantastic role model for the station’s audience, especially the post-40-year-old men who make up the station’s core. I’m being slightly facetious, but I love that the station embraces songs that go beyond the third single by aging ’90s artists. Credit to Christine Malovetz and Christy Taylor for keeping things interesting!

So many incredible female artists are available for airplay, including Clairo, whose “Sexy to Someone” is already an iHeart favorite. I also have lots of affection for girl in red’s “Too Much,” The Marias’ “Run Your Mouth,” The Last Dinner Party’s “Sinner” and Billie Eilish’s “Lunch.” We’re waiting for our slot with beabadoobee, whose Rick Rubin-produced album will be out in August. Dave Lombardi is readying another Beaches track, and one should also pay attention to the Blondshell/Bully single “Docket.”

Very happy for Papa Roach who scored their first Top 10 Alternative single in 15 years! “Leave a Light On,” a song dedicated to mental health, first hit #1 at Rock four months ago, which led the way to its success at Alt. Jacoby Shaddix is still beloved by the Alternative audience, as evidenced by a recent promo tour.

Big congrats to Dave Lombardi and his team for reaching #1 on Royel Otis’ “Murder on the Dance Floor.” It’s truly an extraordinary achievement, especially for a new band. Rather than pivoting to “Linger,” they return to “Sofa King” as their next single—which means I get to hear Ted sing the lyric, “You’re so fucking gorgeous,” again to anyone who will listen (me).

Happiness for Columbia’s Lisa Sonkin, who will be heading into the holiday with Hozier’s “Too Sweet” at #1. Amazing song, and this is well deserved!

Sum 41, whose “Landmines” may never leave the Top 10, is back with a new single called “Dopamine,” already added at Audacy last week. This song will go everywhere post-holidays.

How much do you love Myles Smith’s “Stargazing”? This song is everywhere in pop culture—lean heavily into the zeitgeist.

Dave Barbis is doing exceedingly well with Blame My Youth’s “The Break” on Big Loud Rock. His other act, Letdown, is Top 25. I’m always impressed with Dave’s efforts.

My kid wants to see Beck at the Hollywood Bowl next week. I haven’t told them that I got “Loser” added at KROQ when it was a white-label single on Bongload (before DGC). Those were fun days.

SONG TO HEAR: Been Stellar’s “Pumpkin” (added this week at SiriusXM’s Alt Nation!)