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Biography

New York City-based indie rock band Bleachers is the solo project of Fun. guitarist Jack Antonoff. Formed while Antonoff was touring in support of Fun.'s Grammy-nominated 2012 album, Some Nights, Bleachers' slick and emotional pop music is heavily influenced by the '80s and the high-school-based films of John Hughes, while still using modern production techniques. Their debut single, "I Wanna Get Better," was released in the spring of 2014 by RCA, with an album, Strange Desire, following that summer. The record was produced in part by John Hill and Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yaz, Erasure), and featured appearances by Yoko Ono and Grimes. After the record's release, Antonoff put together a live band and launched a tour that lasted through much of 2015. That September, Bleachers released Terrible Thrills, Vol. 2, which featured versions of all the songs from Strange Desire performed by female artists, including Carly Rae Jepsen, Elle King, Tinashe, and Antonoff's sister Rachel. For 2017's Gone Now, which reunited Bleachers with Clarke and featured a cameo by Lorde, he took inspiration from his memories of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and his sister's death from cancer when he was 18. He recorded the album in his home studio and previewed the album in an art installation that replicated his childhood bedroom. ~ Matt Collar

Our Review

At this point, Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff is probably better known as a pop superproducer (Lorde, Carly Rae Jepsen, Taylor Swift) than as a songwriter and performer in his own right—a talent on full display in his session for MTV Unplugged. Recorded at legendary Asbury Park venue The Stone Pony (proving ground for fellow Jersey boys Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen), the performances here strip away the blockbuster sound of Antonoff’s studio productions to reveal his songs’ anthemic core, from the rousing Gone Now standout “Everybody Lost Somebody” and the Lorde and Carly Rae–featuring “Hate That You Know Me” to a remarkably vulnerable rendition of “I Wanna Get Better,” where Antonoff backs off the mic and lets the audience take the lead.

Songs on MTV Unplugged

1	Let's Get Married (MTV Unplugged)	3:03
2	All My Heroes (MTV Unplugged)	3:31
3	Everybody Lost Somebody (MTV Unplug...	4:08
4	Rollercoaster (MTV Unplugged)	3:19
5	Goodmorning (MTV Unplugged)	3:30
6	Hate That You Know Me (MTV Unplugge...	3:22
7	Shadow (feat. Carly Rae Jepsen) [MT...	3:32
8	Don't Take the Money (feat. Lorde) ...	3:27
9	I Miss Those Days (MTV Unplugged)	3:54
10	Nothing Is U (MTV Unplugged)	2:51
11	I Wanna Get Better (MTV Unplugged)	4:43

Top Albums
Strange Desi... 2014 or	2017 or	Like a River... 2015 or
Rollercoaste... 2015 or	Entropy - Si... 2015 or	Terrible Thr... 2015 or

Top Songs By Bleachers

	I Wanna Get Better Strange Desire	or
	Rollercoaster Strange Desire	or
	Don't Take the Money Gone Now	or
	Like a River Runs Strange Desire	or
	Wild Heart Strange Desire	or
	Shadow Strange Desire	or
	I Miss Those Days Gone Now	or
	Entropy Entropy - Single	or
	Wake Me Strange Desire	or

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