"Jersey has Bruce Springsteen, but New York has Willie Nile" (Elmore Magazine, May 2020).
"Willie’s so good I can’t believe he’s not from New Jersey!" – Little Steven
"The unofficial poet laureate of New York City." - Uncut (UK music Magazine)
Released on the 13th August 2021, 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' is Willie Nile's 14th Studio album (his 10th since the 2006 release of 'Streets of New York'). It is also his 12th album to be released on his own River House Records.
In a March 2020 interview by Jam Band News, Willie Nile said, "I like the independent world. There are no constraints and you can work at your own speed. I’ve no complaints about having been on major labels. I was on two of them and I was able to do what I wanted to do. But things have changed so much in the music business that being independent allows for so many more options."
1. The Day The Earth Stood Still
The album was inspired by the sight of Nile's beloved hometown temporarily turned into a desolate ghost town. "It came from seeing the deserted streets of downtown Manhattan, with all the shops and stores boarded up and all these beautiful buildings looking down on everything. But one Friday night last June, crossing Varick Street, I realized that there wasn't a car in sight, and that I could have laid down in the middle of the street without anyone noticing. The title The Day the Earth Stood Still hit me, and I carried it around for awhile, and eventually it sparked this set of songs."
2. Sanctuary3. Where There's A Willie There's A Way4. Blood On Your Hands (featuring Steve Earle)5. The Justice Bell (For John Lewis)
'The Justice Bell' was inspired by an encounter Willie had with the late civil rights icon and U.S. Congressman John Lewis.
6. Expect Change7. I Don't Remember You8. Off My Medication
'Off My Medication' is a darkly humorous look at mental health, which became a significant source of struggle for many in the past 18 months due to the pandemic.
9. I Will Stand10. Time To Be Great11. Way Of The Heart
"I’m so proud of this album," Nile said. "It was born of a pandemic nightmare, but I think that it offers hope, and passion, for better days to come. That’s what I need, as a person and an artist. And everyone brought their “A” game to the studio."
"After all these years I’m still feeling the passion and the power and the pull of rock ’n’ roll as a way out, as a vehicle that can offer salvation and redemption and joy in this crazy-ass world. Here’s to more music and magic on the road ahead!"
It's been a few years (seven to be precise) since we heard something new from William Michael Albert Broad, better known to you and I as Billy Idol. He's been around doing other stuff like appearing with Miley Cyrus on her November 2020 album 'Plastic Hearts' duetting on 'Night Crawling'. In 2018 he became a US Citzen and also teamed up with former Generation X bandmate Tony James and former Sex Pistols Steve Jones & Paul Cook to perform as Generation Sex at a free show in LA at The Roxy at the end of October (watch it here!).
On 7th October 2014 he published 'Dancing With Myself', which became a New York Times Bestseller (not quite sure how many you have to sell to make that list).
Ten days after the release the book came the first album of new material since Devil's Playground (2005) and only his third album in over twenty years!
A new four track EP will be called 'The Roadside EP' will be released in September on George Harrison’s Dark Horse Records, recently revitalized by his son Dhani. The First song from it, 'Bitter Taste'. was released as a "single" and video yesterday. The track, recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic, finds Idol looking back at his near-fatal 1990 motorcycle accident, a crash that almost resulted in him losing a leg and left him unable to walk for nearly a year.
“I think everyone has been feeling more reflective (during the pandemic). So, it seemed quite logical and natural to write something about my motorcycle accident,” Idol said in a statement. “Certainly, the motorcycle accident was the catharsis, the wake-up moment. A little bit of me got left on that roadside. But it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing in the end; it was a wake-up call. Maybe on that roadside I left behind the irreverent youthful Billy and opened the door for a more attentive father and a more sensitive musician”
