Alternative Rock
Stevie Nicks Writes Poem in Tribute to Taylor Hawkins
Following the tragic, unexpected death of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins on Friday (March 25th), a seemingly endless number of fans and fellow musicians have paid their respects. Stevie Nicks is just one of many who was touched by Hawkins’ ferocious enthusiasm, genuine kindness, and killer smile, and she took to social media to share a thoughtful tribute to her late friend. “Thank goodness for the photo booth in the Foo Fighters studio,” Nicks wrote alongside two black-and-white shots of her with Hawkins. “Because of these pictures my friendship with Taylor will always be at my fingertips. He always came to my shows. He and his best friend Dave even let me be a Foo Fighter for a little while. We recorded a kick ass version of ‘Gold Dust Woman’ (live).” The Fleetwood Mac powerhouse con...
A Foo Picks His Own Fight: Taylor Hawkins on Going Solo and Calling the Shots
Ed. Note: This interview was conducted and published in 2016 in advance of the release of Taylor Hawkins’ solo album, KOTA. In light of Hawkins’ passing on Friday, March 25th, we are republishing the full interview. — There’s this sense of invincibility in the air around Taylor Hawkins, this feeling that he could do anything, so he did everything. It got daring for a while for the Foo Fighters drummer, drugs and laziness, and too much of nothing. He’s reached a symmetry now. He won’t go back, but he will be able to look back at a life of adventures. Take a look at the titles of his various non-Foo projects and you get an idea of Hawkins’ personality: the Coattail Riders, the Birds of Satan, Chevy Metal. His new solo album shows a similar sort of winking, old-school rock ‘n’ roll goofiness,...
Taylor Hawkins: A Musician’s Musician, A Fan’s Fan
Shortly after sound checking his “70s dirt rock cover band” Chevy Metal for a performance on the eve of Metallica’s second Orion Music + More festival during June of 2013 in Detroit, Taylor Hawkins spoke — effusively, as was his nature — to this writer about his musical ventures and adventures to that point. “Man, I just wanted to play music all the time, and I’m doing it and it feels great,” said the multi-faceted performer. At that point, Hawkins was five albums into his career with Foo Fighters, after tenures with Alanis Morissette and Sass Jordan, and had also launched another band, the Coattail Riders — thus stacking up a resume of high profile collaborations. “Y’know, I wanted to be in a great band. I’m in one,” Hawkins said. “I wanted to play with great people. I am. I wanted a life...
Phoebe Bridgers Pens Essay for Bon Iver’s Self-Titled 10th Anniversary Reissue
Bon Iver have reissued their 2011 sophomore album Bon Iver for its tenth anniversary, complete with a special essay written by Phoebe Bridgers. Stream the LP below on Apple Music and Spotify. The new edition of the studio set features all 10 songs on the original tracklist along with live versions of “Hinnom, TX,” “Wash.,” “Beth/Rest,” and bonus tracks “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and “Babys” recorded at AIR Studios. In her poetic introduction, Bridgers lays out her personal history as a fan of Bon Iver and their music, detailing her memories of the self-titled album in delicate second-person prose. Advertisement Related Video “The second Bon Iver record came out. It did not sound the way you expected,” she writes. “It was massive, sprawling, unbelievably complex — The Beach Boys on opiates....
Camp Cope Share New Album Running with the Hurricane: Stream
Camp Cope return today with their first new album in four years. Running with the Hurricane, the Melbourne indie rock trio’s third LP, is out now via Run for Cover. Running with the Hurricane was recorded at Sing Sing Recording Studios with engineer Anna Laverty, who co-produced the album with frontperson Georgia Maq. Courtney Barnett contributed additional instrumentation to the songs “Caroline” and “Sing Your Heart Out,” while Cable Ties drummer Shauna Boyle played on “One Wink at a Time.” The album’s 10 songs also include the singles “Blue” and the title track. Of Running with the Hurricane, Maq explains in a statement: “The first record was us diving into whatever Camp Cope created, the second album was us when we were in the thick of it, and then this album is about how we’ve come out...
The Gaslight Anthem Returning to “Full Time Status”
The Gaslight Anthem are returning to “full time status,” with plans for a new album and extensive tour. The band’s frontman, Brian Fallon, shared the news in a social media post on Monday. “We’ll be announcing a lot of tour dates in the next couple of days,” Fallon teased. “We’re also beginning to write new songs for what will be our sixth LP. We’re looking forward to the future and seeing you all again.” Following The Gaslight Anthem’s initial hiatus in 2015, Fallon and co. temporarily revived the band in 2018 to embark on a brief tour celebrating the 10th anniversary of their album The ’59 Sound. It seems the band had initially considered a similar anniversary tour around their album Handwritten, but are now opting for something entirely new. Advertisement Related Video Earlier this year...
The Killers Release Pressure Machine (Deluxe): Stream
The Killers have released the deluxe edition of their 2021 album Pressure Machine via Island Records/UMG. Stream it below on Apple Music and Spotify. First unveiled back in August, the band’s latest studio effort centers on the heartbreaking and intimate stories from Nephi, Utah, the small town on the Wasatch Front where lead singer Brandon Flowers was born and raised. Recorded entirely during the pandemic and leaning on influences of folk and heartland rock, Pressure Machine was a departure both sonically and lyrically for the Las Vegas-based veteran rockers, and the deluxe edition adds seven new tracks to the proceedings — including four re-workings of album closer “The Getting By” and two additional reimagined takes on melancholy opener “West Hills.” Advertisement Related Video The Kill...
Destroyer Share New Album LABYRINTHITIS: Stream
Destroyer have released their new album LABYRINTHITIS. Stream it below via Bandcamp or Apple Music. The creative process for LABYRINTHITIS largely took place in the isolation of 2020, with songwriter Dan Bejar in Vancouver sending ideas to frequent collaborator John Collins on the nearby Galiano Island. They found inspiration for the resulting 10-track LP in disco, Art of Noise, and New Order. “I think when we discovered, as per yoozh, that we weren’t going to be making a techno record, it wasn’t going to be sidelong Donna Summer style tracks, the idea then became — especially once John really started being inundated with bonafide music made by actual humans — to make the most disorienting record we could,” Bejar told BrooklynVegan in a recent interview. “It is relentlessly upbea...
Arcade Fire to Perform at March Madness Music Festival, JUNO Awards
Arcade Fire have confirmed two major public performances in support of their upcoming album, WE. Next week, the band will headline the AT&T Block Party as part of the 2022 NCAA March Madness Music Festival in New Orleans. Taking place on Friday night (April 1st), the concert will also feature fellow New Orleans greats Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Best yet? In-person tickets are free with registration, and the performance will also be streamed live online via AT&T’s 5G FanZone. Arcade Fire are also confirmed to perform at Canada’s Juno Awards on Sunday, May 15th. The in-person awards show takes place at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto, and will be broadcast in Canada on CBC, as well as globally on CBCMusic.ca. Tickets are also available to purchase via Ticketmaster. Related Video Las...
Soccer Mommy Announces New Album Sometimes, Forever, Shares “Shotgun”: Stream
Soccer Mommy has announced a new album called Sometimes, Forever. The third LP from Sophie Allison arrives June 24th via Loma Vista, while first single “Shotgun” is available to stream now. After working with indie producer Gabe Wax for 2018’s Clean and 2020’s color theory, Soccer Mommy enlisted Daniel Lopatin, the electronic producer behind Oneohtrix Point Never, for Sometimes, Forever. The album picks up where color theory left off, blending lush synths with Allison’s perennial fixation with 2000s pop. The record gets its title from the concept that neither sorrow nor happiness is permanent — that our strongest emotions feel like they’ll last forever, but quickly get brushed aside by something new. “Sorrow and emptiness will pass, but they will always come back ...
beabadoobee Announces New Album Beatopia, Shares “Talk”: Stream
beabadoobee’s sophomore album is on the way. Entitled Beatopia, it’s due out on July 15th via Dirty Hit. As part of today’s announcement, our 2021 Rookie of the Year has also shared the album’s lead single, “Talk,” and mapped out a 2022 tour in North America and the UK Beatopia’s title is pulled from the fantastical, personal world that beabadoobee’s Bea Kristi devised in her imagination as a seven-year-old, and has kept close to her heart to this day. Across the record’s 14 tracks, Bea weaves together elements of fuzzy rock, homey singer-songwriter, psychedelia, midwest emo, and straightforward pop. “Talk” exemplifies Bea’s versatility, drawing upon her tried-and-true blend of pop-rock. Watch the song’s video, which features 150 of the musician’s biggest fans, below. Advertisement Re...
Gorillaz in 10 Songs
This article originally ran in 2017 and has been updated. Ever felt overwhelmed by an artist’s extensive back catalog? Been meaning to check out a band, but you just don’t know where to begin? In 10 Songs is here to help, offering a crash course and entry point into the daunting discographies of iconic artists of all genres. This is your first step toward fandom. Take it. Isn’t it frustrating not being able to box something in? Not being able to name it because the goddamn thing is so busy evolving that it slips through your fingers? Sure, they might be a bunch of cartoon characters, but there’s always been something a little darker than meets the eye going on with Gorillaz. They’re pockmarked and weathered, garish, rough around the edges, the residents of Banksy’s Dismaland as counterpoin...
