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.”