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@madonna’s third album ‘True Blue’ came out 40 years ago today 💙

When I catch up with Brock via video chat a few weeks after the cruise, he is carrying a honeycomb to his kitchen and trying to separate wax from honey. It occurs to me that the beekeeping apparel he was rocking on the Pearl is not just a costume. It's something he bought for actually tending to bees. "I'm a fiscally sound dude," he explains, a man who gets the most out of his items.

Brock tells me that when we spoke on the ship, I got "the hand-wringing version of the interview," but he was ultimately thrilled with his cruise experience. Sure, the schedule was demanding. And yeah, he had some awkward interactions with fans, like the guy who was trying to determine if he was present for Modest Mouse's final show with the late Jeremiah Green for clout. And yet, Brock concludes, "I walked away from that thing feeling fucking rad, man." He'd gladly do it again. Two years from now, he probably will.

In the meantime, he's getting ready to roll out a new album, his first in half a decade. He wishes Modest Mouse records would come out faster, that he could just bang them out in a weekend, first-thought best-thought. When I ask if the demands of family life slow down the process, he instead puts it on himself. Owning a studio makes it tempting to indulge every idea, so he piles on elements, then starts peeling them back, always trying to find some variable that will push a song to the next level, never sure when a track is complete. Even though he believes "the idea is usually best for the most part within the first week — honestly, within the first day," he can't help himself.

After another long gap between albums, he's antsy for this one to finally be out, not least of all because he knows the fans are counting on it. "I'm just interested to see that the record connects with people in a way that is meaningful," Brock says. "This one, I feel like there's at least a few songs that I think are useful things, tools to have in life. And I don't actually feel that way all the time about my music, but I feel like a few songs on this one actually are me doing my best job to genuinely give people fucking coping mechanisms."

By Margaret Farrell

9:40 AM EST on January 30, 2026

The Grammys are happening this Sunday, Feb. 1. Last night, Spotify kicked off the weekend's festivities with their annual pre-party, which celebrated the Best New Artist nominees. The event returned this year following its cancellation last year due to wildfire recovery and took place at the Lot at Formosa in West Hollywood. All Best New Artist nominees — Olivia Dean, Addison Rae, Katseye, the Marías, sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren, Lola Young — were given slots to perform a few songs.

Only two nominees — the Chainsmokers and Maren Morris — performed at Spotify's first iteration of their Best New Artist party in 2017. This year, all nominees performed three or four songs. They kept the integrity of their tracks intact, performing them in full as opposed to adhering to the awards ceremony medley's time constraints. According to the Independent, "The stage rotated to reveal another backline, leaving the audience to guess who would emerge next."

Lola Young seemed to be in good spirits. It was her first performance since canceling shows after collapsing onstage in September. She reappeared at Lily Allen's Christmas party last month and the following day shared that she would "gradually get back to performing and continuing pursuing my dreams."

A few hours before the event, triple j shared a new performance of sombr covering fellow nom Olivia Dean's "Man I Need," and Elton John narrated a new commercial for Spotify featuring all the Best New Artist nominees.

StereoGum ranked SUPER F★CKING MEGA ST★R number FOUR on their Best Pop Songs of 2025 List!!