Nearly three decades ago, Mogwai sampled parts of an interview Iggy Pop gave to the CBC in 1977 for their Come On Die Young album opener “Punk Rock.” “Punk rock is a word used by dilettantes and … it’s a term that’s based on contempt,” he said seriously then, set to the group’s slow-building moody post-rock. Now the Iguana has collaborated with Mogwai on “Underground,” a funny new song with a video directed by Scott McPherson that features on their upcoming compilation, Happy Tears, out Jan. 8.
“I am a robot and I am unhappy,” he says, sounding as serious as he did on “Punk Rock” on the new song. “I have been designed to make money, but I want to make love.” Then the guitar comes in (sounding very “punk rock”) and Pop’s signature sense of humor juts out: “I don’t need to suck a cock,” he sings. “All the friends that I have got understand these words I spit/I don’t need to sing bullshit.” Unlike Mogwai’s early music, “Underground” has a hard beat on which Pop sings, “Underground, you’re my home” with the same affinity for underground music he had when talking about punk in ’77.
“I’ve always liked Mogwai,” Pop said in a statement. “The opening of the track reminded me of the crushing modern loneliness. The sung vocal, which was arranged by Matt Sweeney, felt like it was made for someone who is pissed off and doesn’t mind saying so.”
The song previews Happy Tears, which acknowledges Mogwai’s 30-year history. The compilation collects highlights and rarities from the influential post-rock band’s including a reworking of “New Paths to Helicon 1,” newly retitled “Brand New Paths to Helicon 1,” featuring the Budapest Art Orchestra. It will be available in double- and quadruple-LP configurations, as well as a double CD and digitally. The expanded editions include 13 additional tracks, including six previously unreleased songs. They’re also releasing a two-and-a-half–hour audio documentary, Happy Tears: The Story of Mogwai, to go along with it.
“I never thought we’d be making 11 records, because hardly any bands I liked ever did,” the band’s Stuart Braithwaite said in the audio doc. “We’re doing it being weirdo Scottish instrumental misery mongers. Like, yeah, that’s pretty wild.’”
Happy Tears track list:
Standard double-LP version
1. “Yes! I Am a Long Way From Home”
2. “I’m Jim Morrison I’m Dead”
3. “Hunted By a Freak”
4. “Take Me Somewhere Nice”
5. “Boltfor”
6. “CODY”
7. “Brand New Paths to Helicon 1”
8. “How to Be a Werewolf”
9. “Auto Rock”
10. “Remurdered”
11. “Ritchie Sacramento”
12. “Lion Rumpus”
13. “Underground” (feat. “Iggy Pop)
Quadruple LP and double-CD additional tracks
1. “Angels vs Aliens”
2. “Die 1 Dislike!”
3. “Ether” (with The KNDS Fairey Band – Live)
4. “The Sun Smells Too Loud” (Holden remix)
5. “If Not Destroyed: True”
6. “Full Blast Michael”
7. “Hingmy Malmsteen”
8. “Dracula Family “
9. “Harry Patter”
10. “Ritchie Sacramento” (Other Two remix)
11. “Nick Drake”
12. “Owl Mince”
13. “Mogwai Fear Satan” (Live)
The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr, Bono and Adam Clayton (from left) in 1978 Patrick Brocklebank
Class photo from Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin, 1978. Bono is in the front row, third from left; his future wife, then Ali Stewart, is to his left. The Edge is in the back row, center, in jacket and tie. Courtesy of U2
U2 in Berlin circa Achtung Baby Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn
Bono, the Edge, and Clayton perform at the Sphere in Las Vegas in 2023, with Bram van den Berg filling in for Mullen on drums Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
U2 shooting the “Street of Dreams” video in Mexico City in May Eloisa Sanchez
Michael Schwartz
Did ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ Need an Encore? And Where Is Taylor Swift Going Next?
Taylor Swift has always loved a story. It’s what has set her songwriting apart for 20 years now — and what she has used to maintain her almighty superstar status. Both in her work and in the presentation of it, Swift has woven strong narratives of heartbreak, success, redemption, torture, and glory where all of the pieces fall into place and it’s easy to root for her.
With her latest album, The Life of the Showgirl, Swift presented a sequined tale of triumph. Finally, finally, the girl who spent her whole life trying to put the feeling of love into words had changed the prophecy by getting engaged (and now married) to Travis Kelce. Professionally, Swift was at her peak, too. She’d just bought back her masters with the earnings from her historic Eras Tour, an all-encompassing career feat that inspired the project.
But there’s no debating that the musician’s 12th album was her most polarizing yet (yes, even more than the 2017 LP, Reputation). Some critics and fans alike didn’t appreciate the execution of the “showgirl” idea sonically or thematically. But hate it or love it, Showgirl was the perfect way for Swift to revel in her success — and set the stage for her next show-stopping move.
That’s why it’s so confusing that the expert storyteller decided the show wasn’t over when she released The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore with four bonus tracks. One of the strongest elements of the original album was that Swift delivered a tight 12, and only 12, songs. “There’s not a 13th, there’s not other ones coming,” she said last year. “Every single song is on this album for hundreds of reasons, you know, and you couldn’t take one out and it’d be the same album. You couldn’t add one. It’s just right.”
Now, there is suddenly more to the story with the addition of “Patient Zero,” “Cleveland!” “Pink Clouding,” and “Babylon.” Unfortunately, as many fans have pointed out, none of the songs add to the narrative set forth in Showgirl.
Swift said she wrote the bonus tracks last year following the success of the album. “We just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in,” she said, referring to the project’s collaborators, Max Martin and Shellback. That moment found Swift newly engaged, yet her lead single back, “Patient Zero,” looks back at a past relationship. “Pink Clouding” also reflects on a former flame, but without the regretful yearning that made “Ruin the Friendship” a standout. Meanwhile, “Cleveland!” takes the gushing over-the-heels joy from “Honey” and “Wood” and adds an almost spiteful twist. And then there is the new curtain-closer, “Babylon” where Swift hands out more pearls of wisdom over an acoustic cut that would fit better on Folklore or Evermore. In fact, all four songs sound like they were plucked from previous albums like Midnights or The Tortured Poets Department. With these four tracks, she has not only confused the story of Showgirl, she’s also muddled that of Taylor Swift™.
Swift is a known mastermind, who has planned her next career move years in advance, and she’s been celebrated for her expert marketing power moves. But where does the showgirl go from here? The Encore has unleashed more questions about Swift’s next chapter rather than offer a clear path forward.
On Sunday, Swift premiered the cinematic music video for “Patient Zero” at the 2026 MTV VMAs. It’s a chilling thriller, and one of her most impressive visuals to date. Was that the point of it all, to highlight her full-throttle pivot to film? We know that the musician has a directorial debut on the way with Searchlight Pictures. Maybe she finally found the time to finish it, and that’s why she worked on the Toy Story 5 soundtrack.
The Encore could also just be a way for Swift to get her 12th album back into the conversation, just in time for the first round of voting for the 2027 Grammys. One would expect the singer-songwriter to submit the project for all of the major categories, including the coveted Album of the Year and Song of the Year. It’s unclear whether Swift will submit both “The Fate of Ophelia,” which became Swift’s longest-running Number One song atop the Billboard Hot and her new shining single “I Knew It, I Knew You” for Song of the Year — the songwriting-focused Grammy she has yet to win.
Swift has spent the last six months riding on the high of “I Knew It, I Knew You.” The song dominated on country radio — and led the musician to drop a ton of Easter eggs hinting at her big return to the genre. She could honor her songwriting legacy with a country music return timed to the 20th anniversary of her debut in October. Now that would be a great story.