Weekly FeaturesNov 19-25Issue 2.27by Jeff Wilson • The White Album was probably the only serious candidate for an underground station—that or Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Although none of its songs were hits, Pepper’s generally had more of a pop sound than The White Album, and because at that point the wow factor associated with Pepper’s was still fresh, it got much more press. Of all the Beatles records, The White Album seemed the most…read more by Ben Westhoff • I went to a Lower East Side venue a few months ago to see my friend’s band play, but a singer named John McGrew that came on later upstaged them and everyone else on the bill that night. Brooklyn singer-songwriter McGrew’s fearless vocals and showmanship won me over immediately, as did his backing band the SitBacks’ spontaneous brand of indie-folk and pop-gospel.…read more by Steve Turner • Originally published in NME, 6 October 1973
Manager Mike Appel is talking in the dressing rooms of the Spectrum stadium in Philadelphia. "When I first came across Bruce it was by accident," he says, "but when I heard him play I heard this voice saying to me... Superstar. I couldn’t believe it. I’d never been that close to a superstar before."…read more Recently in Feature Stories Recently in Classic Vantage
by Greg Gaston • Produced by Dave Jordan and Shane himself, The Snake plunges us back into the Irish bard’s maelstrom of gutter vibes and lyrical tales. ...read moreby Max Mobley • There comes a time in many bands when the members have to sit down and figure out how the pie they bake every night will be legally divvied up. ...read moreby C! Team • Sometimes life calls for seeing some deep, introspective music, and sometimes it calls for some surreal English wit, and other times it just calls for the tank top-clad glory of Danzig. ...read moreby Sean Nelson • If you regard the period between 1971 and 1975, from Blue to Summer Lawns as a single narrative, then C&S is the unquestionable climax. ...read more
In March of 1967, when the Doors drove up to play two nights at the Matrix, Marty Balin’s new nightclub on San Francisco’s Broadway, they’d already released their first album, but it wasn't selling all that well. The single of "Light My Fire", the song that made them stars, wouldn't be released until July; still, they were expecting a club full of stoned hippies and some kind of a psychedelic orgy for their San Francisco debut. According to John Densmore, about eight people...read more by Jessica Gentile"nearly every song will make you want to sip girly drinks while lying in a hammock, swaying by the beach"...read more by Angela Zimmerman"adoring sentiments are scattered throughout the record like love-strewn rose petals"...read more by Steve Matteo"reminds us just how powerful the songs alone are without full studio embellishment"...read more by j. poet"ranges from the cosmic to the mundane, from giddy happiness to dark paranoid delusions"...read more by Jocelyn Hoppa"there's a duality at play... while the focus is often on the beast, the beauty is not exactly chaste either"...read more Gene Simmons
1979, Location unknown
Photography by Joe Sia It’s not a photograph of Gene Simmons unless he’s sticking out his enormous tongue, and that’s exactly what the Kiss bass player is doing in this stunning Joe Sia capture from 1979. The smoky red stage lights illuminating “The Demon” pair beautifully with the color of his cape (and, of course, his tongue, which was surely dripping fake blood later in the gig). Kiss was still riding a massive wave of success in 1979: the year before, the band simultaneously released four solo albums, and their follow-up, Dynasty, exceeded platinum sales levels. They stylistically stumbled a bit in the years after, but as this photo makes clear, Kiss’s glittery hard rock was a spectacle without parallel. View the Rock Art Rock Gallery See more Kiss photography |
Daily UpdatesNov 21Album Art Friday .jpg "Hall of the Mountain Grill")
When it comes to space rock, it doesn’t get any better than Hawkwind’s classic era, especially 1974’s Hall of the Mountain Grill. Recorded while Lemmy (later frontman of Motörhead) was still in the band, the group tackles heavy rockers and more cerebral fare with equal finesse. “Psychedelic Warlords” and “You’d Better Believe It” were its two overblown, fantastic singles. The cover, painted by Barney Bubbles, shows a spaceship crashed into what looks like a swamp—an astounding collision of the alien and the earthly, not unlike Hawkwind’s best music. John McCain and Jackson Browne continue to duke it out over "Running on Empty." (NY Times) Holy super music group: Tweedy, Marr, O'Brien, Selway, and more team up for a Neil Finn charity project. (Guardian) And another awesome collaboration, this one involving Iggy, Byrne, Rascal, and Fatboy Slim. (Pitchfork) Ouch. Sirius XM stock has plummeted to 16 cents a share. (Daily Swarm) Three days before the street date, Myspace hosts full streams of Chinese Democracy with Axl's approval. (Hypebot) J Mascis give his 2005 solo album J + Friends Sing + Chant for Amma a digital release for charity. (Pitchfork) A beautiful new video from Beach House for their song "Used To Be" made it's way around the web yesterday. Absolutely lovely. (Idolator) We don't know about "perfect timing," but it is pretty amazing how people still nerd out to this degree for Guitar Hero. (Wired) Words on longtime Minneapolis mainstay Prince and his new life in Los Angeles. (New Yorker) Get out your calendars, Record Store Day is confirmed for 2009. (CMJ) It's Harvard Law School professor vs. federal copyright law time. (APNews) “You made me such a big star
Being there at the right time
Cheaper than a dime
Wah-wah, you've given me your wah-wah, wah-wah” - George Harrison, “Wah-wah” November 21, 1983 Michael Jackson’s epic 14-minute, million dollar video for “Thriller” premiered in Los Angeles 25 years ago today. November 21st: 1940: Dr. John
1948: Lonnie Jordan (War)
1950: Livingston Taylor
1965: Björk
1968: Alex James (Blur) LA’s great lost punk band, the Screamers, never released a record, but there’s some video out there, including this performance of “Vertigo.”
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