by Shawn Alexander
shawn@happens.vip
Famous Firsts & New Music Discovery #Happens
Happy Monday! Hope you had an amazin’ weekend! We kickoff the first day of the week with Derric Tanner from KNRK 94/7fm Alternative Portland sharing his fun stories on #HAPPENS Famous Firsts.
Rome “Slow & Easy” featuring Dirty Heads is buzzing at Alternative. The chilled out summer vibe is the #1 Most Picked song this week on Alternative Picks. Find the rest of the Top 5 Most Picked Songs on Alternative Picks.
Good Charlotte “Rejects” is the highest chart debut at 28* this week on the Mediabase Alternative Chart. There are 4 other chart debuts this week: Rome “Slow & Easy (ft. Dirty Heads)” debuts at 35*, The Paradox “Get The Message” debuts at 36*, sombr “undressed” debuts at 37, and Mumford & Sons “Caroline” debuts at 38*.
New music that needs to be on your radar: Deftones “my mind is a mountain”, All Time Low “The Weather”, Matt Maeson “Downstairs” and Mt. Joy “Lucy”. Get the Download and Song Info below on the newest songs now available for you on the #HAPPENS Alternative Downloads page.
Jay Som has announced her first new album in 6 years and drops a new song featuring Jim Adkins (of Jimmy Eat World) that I think will really surprise you. Learn about some cool new music on Alternative Music Info.
Ratings Love! Great to see KRXP (X1039)/Colorado Springs up for the 3rd consecutive month in the Nielsen Ratings 12+, increasing 2.4-2.7-2.9 12+. Congrats to Carly Evans & the X1039 team!
KIWR (89-7 The River)/Omaha’s 30th Anniversary Show was this past Saturday (7/12). Check out the smiles with Sophia John and The River staff with Sublime (new single arrives this week), Blue October (“Hot Stuff” now Top 20 this week), and Jack & Sara Springer share a memory on Alternative Photos.
ALTERNATIVE NEW MUSIC DISCOVERY
Deftones “my mind is a mountain” (Reprise/Warner)
Listen & Download HERE.
Sacramento 4-piece Deftones released “my mind is a mountain” on July 10th. The surprise release is from the band’s upcoming 10th album, private music, coming August 22nd.
It’s their first new album since Ohms in 2020. Deftones recorded and co-produced private music in various locations in California including Malibu and Joshua Tree as well as Nashville with GRAMMY Award-winning producer Nick Raskulinecz. It marks their third collaboration with Raskulinecz who had previously helmed Diamond Eyes [2010] and Koi No Yokan [2012].
Zane Lowe exclusively premiered the new single “my mind is a mountain” as his latest “World Record” on Apple Music. Deftones have delivered a succession of seminal releases, sold over 10 million records globally, gathered 9.2 billion-plus streams, and inspired generations. Their catalog encompasses 2000’s RIAA certified 2X-Platinum White Pony—which earned the group’s first GRAMMY®—as well as the RIAA Platinum-certified Diamond Eyes [2010], Koi No Yokan [2012], and Ohms [2020]. The band’s singles “Change (In The House of Flies)” is RIAA Certified 4x-Platinum and “Be Quiet And Drive” is RIAA Certified 2x-Platinum.
Earlier this year, Deftones launched their first North American headline tour since 2022 and it was a 100% sold out arena run. The second leg of Deftones dates commences on August 22nd at Rogers Arena in Vancouver and continues in arenas across Canada and the US through September 17th at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Deftones has upcoming festival appearances at Louder Than Life in Louisville on September 20th and Aftershock back home in Sacramento on October 3rd. Find the tour dates HERE.
All Time Low “The Weather” (Basement Noise/Photo Finish/Virgin)
Listen & Download HERE.
Maryland quartet All Time Low released “The Weather” on July 11th. It’s the first single from the band’s upcoming tenth album, Everyone’s Talking, coming October 17th via the band’s own imprint Basement Noise Records in partnership with Photo Finish/Virgin.
In June, All Time Low dropped the first taste of new music from the new album with “SUCKPUNCH,” which they recently performed to over 25,000 fans at Warped Tour in DC. “The Weather” is a Ramones-toasting pop-rock missile, and one which lead singer Alex Gaskarth describes as “a cynical but playful concept” about running into a close former friend or partner and, rather than reminiscing about the heavy times spent together, instead BS’ing about trivial matters.
All Time Low has multiple #1 singles, including their massive breakthrough single “Monsters,” which logged 18 weeks at #1 on the Alternative Chart. All Time Low has upcoming festival appearances at Louder Than Life on September 19th, Riot Fest on September 20th, and Aftershock on October 2nd leading into their fall Everyone’s Talking Tour with 30+ dates beginning October 4th through November 29th with stops at When We Were Young Festival on October 18th and Warped Tour Orlando on November 16th. Find the tour dates HERE.
Matt Maeson “Downstairs” (Atlantic)
Listen & Download HERE.
Virginia Beach’s Matt Maeson released “Downstairs” on July 11th. It’s the first official single from his upcoming third album, A Quiet And Harmless Living, due on September 12th.
Maeson says, “Downstairs was one of the first songs I wrote for this album. It was written out of exhaustion and my tendency to isolate myself when things are hard. I’d just had my son, and I was having a very hard time with it. I found myself racing through the days to get everything that had to be done over with so I could go isolate myself downstairs. I ended up having a few buddies come over months after I’d started the song and they helped me finish it in that very same room downstairs.”
In June, Maeson shared a new fan track “Everlasting” that chronicles the recent changes in his life, including getting married, moving from Austin to Nashville, and becoming a dad. The first song arrived with A Quiet And Harmless Living Tour announcement that begins September 26th in Dallas and ends November 8th in Brooklyn. Find the tour dates HERE. Maeson’s debut album, Bank On The Funeral, spawned #1 Alternative singles “Cringe” and “Hallucinogenics.”
Mt. Joy “Lucy” (Bloom Field/Futures/Virgin)
Listen & Download HERE.
Philadelphia quintet Mt. Joy released “Lucy” on July 7th. It’s from the L.A.-based band’s fourth album, Hope We Have Fun, which was released on May 30th.
Mt. Joy lead singer Matt Quinn shares the story about “Lucy”: “After our show at MSG, Michael had stayed late with an old friend who had informed him, tragically, that she had brain tumors and the prognosis was bleak. She was unsure if she was going to fight the tumors given the probability of survival or just enjoy the rest of her life as much as she could. It was such an amazing night for us playing the most iconic arena in the world, but hearing that story was a humbling reminder of how fragile life is [this song is] our way of honoring the idea of someone looking death in the eyes and deciding to enjoy what life they have left rather than getting tangled up in the fear of death.”
The band’s first breakthrough single at Alternative was “Silver Lining” in 2017. Mt. Joy head out on tour beginning July 25th and wrap up with two hometown shows at TD Pavillion At The Mann in Philadelphia on September 26-27. Find the tour dates HERE.
ALTERNATIVE IMPACTING SONGS
Impacting July 15, 2025
All Time Low “The Weather” (Basement Noise/Photo Finish/Virgin)
| ARTIST | All Time Low |
|---|---|
| SONG | “The Weather” |
| LABEL | Basement Noise/Photo Finish/Virgin |
“The Weather” is the newest single from Maryland quartet All Time Low. It’s from the band’s tenth album, Everyone’s Talking, coming October 17th via the band’s own imprint Basement Noise Records in partnership with Photo Finish/Virgin. “The Weather” is a Ramones-toasting pop-rock missile, and one which lead singer Alex Gaskarth describes as “a cynical but playful concept” about running into a close former friend or partner and, rather than reminiscing about the heavy times spent together, instead BS’ing about trivial matters.
ALTERNATIVE BIRTHDAYS
ALT Happy Birthday wishes this week to Sumerian VP/Promotion Mike Jakubow (7/14), WKQX (Q101)/Chicago Middayer Lauren O’Neil (7/15), former KXNA/Fayetteville morning host Jason “Roach” Hines (7/15), former Audacy VP/Digital Audio Content Leslie Scott (7/16), Severance Records Co-President Mike Easterlin (7/16), LAAMP Music’s Chris Moradi (7/17), 91X/San Diego Morning Host Marty Whitney (7/18), CO5 Music/#HAPPENS’ Todd Sievers (7/18), WROX (96X)/Norfolk PD Nick Chappell (7/19), Cornerstone/Fader Label’s Jon Cohen (7/20), KXTE (X107.5)/Las Vegas PD Cat Thomas (7/20).
